Arrival Upon This Beautiful World!
by MaxTitan8519
Summary: The following is a crossover series taking Maximus from The Chaos Gemstone Chronicles and adding him into the Konosuba universe. Maximus awakens from his sleep to be within a void, sitting on a chair. Aqua appears to inform him of his untimely passing. She accidentally let it slips that she brought him there. In order to get back at her he decides to take her to begin a new life.
1. Chapter 1

**Briefing & Arrival Upon This Beautiful World:**

Maximus awoke sitting on a chair that was in dark room with a small amount of light illuminating all around him. The entirety of the place felt as though it could stretch on forever with no visible horizon. It was as though he were sitting in the middle of a void with no concept of time or structure. In front of him was another chair that was a bit more fancy looking than the one he was sitting on and next to it was a nightstand with drawers and a thick book on top. He was in his usual black outfit and blue trench coat.

"What is going on and where exactly am I?" He wondered to himself.

The next moment he heard the footsteps approaching from behind and he turned around to see a beautiful lady walking up toward him. Her beauty was beyond any other woman he had come across before. She had a slim figure with ample breasts, long toned legs, blue waist-long hair that is partially tied into a loop with a water-molecule shaped clip.

Her clothes carry a blue color scheme, her attire consisted of a blue vest with a single white lining that glided down the middle. Her arms bore white detached sleeves with blue edges, white thigh-high leggings, with blue edgings, that spanned up to her mid-thighs and long boots blue in color reaching just past her knees.

She also had an extremely short miniskirt with gold edging, and a transparent blue underskirt. She also wore a divine relic in the form of a translucent pink Hagoromo that wrapped around her arms. Her sharp blue eyes had a graceful gaze that could pierce through ones own soul. The blue outfit helped brought out the color in her eyes and hair.

"Hello, welcome to the afterlife, I am the Goddess Aqua," She said with grace, pausing for a moment and took a long look at him. "He's far better in person than I would have imagined. This will work out perfectly for this world I will ultimately send him to. I know it was something I shouldn't have done, but I got to help that world out somehow." She thought to herself.

"Wait, hold up, you said this is the afterlife, correct?" Maximus quickly asked to confirm what she said.

"That is correct." She responded.

"Okay next question, how did I get here?" He inquired with a little anger in his tone.

"You died on your world, my condolences on your untimely passing. Normally I fairy souls from the land of Japan to this world, but for some reason you were sent to me. So, I get to offer you two choices to go from here." She briefly explained.

"Hold on here, how did I die on my world? The last thing I remember was getting a night's rest when suddenly I felt a cold hand upon my chest where my heart was and finally awoke here. How does that add up?" He asked further.

"You died of a heart attack in your sleep." She shot back quickly trying to hide her grin.

"Wait, how could I have died from a heart attack when I was the picture of health back in my world?" He protested and noticed she was trying to hide her smile that was growing by the second. "What's so funny?" He inquired feeling annoyed of the look on her face.

She began to laugh hysterically as she was slightly reminded about a young boy who was before him. "Oh, it's nothing truly important, this just reminded me of a pathetic boy who died a far worse death than you did. You should have seen the way it happened to him, he thought a girl was going to get hit by a truck when in reality it was only a slow-moving tractor and he pissed himself he was so scared." She blurted out and began to laugh even harder. "He arrived at the hospital only to die on the spot by a fluke heart attack and his parents were so embarrassed they didn't want to see him at all." She continued.

"I can't help but laugh a little yet this is still not very funny either way." He said to himself.

"Anyway, there's no good thing like a good laughter to brighten up your day. Although I will confess, I was somehow able to not make fun of him when he was here. Who knows what could have happened if I had let it all out?" She said.

She stood from here chair, her Hagoromo disappeared from view, and she approached Maximus.

"Now then, to let you know about your choices you can select from. The first option is rather boring to be honest. You can choose to move on to heaven and take the form of a spirit where you will sit around and do nothing all day every day for the rest of eternity." She paused to lean close to him. "Oh, and just so you know, taking that route is highly overrated. Since you don't have a physical body in heaven, you won't be able to have sex with any of the ladies there."

She turned around and walked back to her chair. "So, you should pick option two and be reincarnated on a new world where you can be an adventurer and go on many quests." She said with her arms in the air as though it were meant to be a joyous occasion and a light shined down upon her.

"Okay, hypothetical question here before I choose. Why should I even bother with another world's problems when I had my own to take care of, can I not choose to return to my home world?" Maximus inquired folding his arms.

"Unfortunately, you only have those two options to choose from and," She paused for a moment to lean down in front of him. "The world I will be sending you to is being ruled by a vicious tyrant known to all as "The Demon King" and many people are being trampled before the might and onslaught of his armies and followers. They rape, pillage, commit horrible atrocities, burn cities to the ground, and commit… horrible atrocities." She shouted out loud raising her arms once more.

"As if I didn't have my own problems fighting against several Demon Lords on my home world, which you may or may not have doomed by the way. I am supposed to care about one single low life scumbag on a different world now." He said standing up feeling annoyed clinching his right hand. "Why doesn't this world have effective means or great heroes to battle this fiend?" He inquired.

"The heroes of the past in this world all died in the first wave, now most people just go on quest as a job nothing more than that. Plus, the population is dwindling and we need an intervention of a sort to combat this evil." She explained. "Jeez, why don't you just go down there so we can get this underway, I've got better things to do than just wait for you to decide what you are going to do."

"Fine, I will go to this world." He said feeling annoyed curbing his anger. "By the way I have to ask another question." He said to her and she listened intently. "Will I be able to retain all my physical form as it was before I died, that is, keep all of my abilities?"

"Yeah, it will be a piece of cake to do that." She responded.

"One more question, in my previous life there was a curse placed upon my ancestor that followed down the line through the ages to me which kept the vast majority of us from accessing our full potential. Will you be able to remove such a curse?" He inquired and waited for her reply with great interest.

"Yeah, that would be a cinch for someone as high level of a Goddess as I." She replied.

Maximus looked down at his hands knowing full well what would transpire from being released and he could finally be able to truly master his Nephilim powers. A renewed smile appeared on his face that had a sinister look and feel to it.

"Then let's get to it." He said calmly.

"Alright, first you will need to decide what one thing you wish to take with you. Upon your arrival into this world you will be able to communicate with everyone as the common language will be downloaded into your brain. You will be able to read and write it as though it were natural to you. There is the slight rarity that the information overload will make you go "poof" but that almost never happens at all." She explained.

"Wait, what do you mean by poof? Did you just happen to say something on the lines my brain will be splattered and try to pass it off as it were not a problem at all?" He inquired.

"No, I didn't." She quickly shot back closing a book.

"Yes, you did." He fired back with annoyance in his voice.

"Alright, here are some things for you to choose from to take with you on your journey." She said with joy throwing two stacks of paper at him.

Moments went by and Maximus was having a hard time choosing what to bring with him.

"I can use a mighty weapon or have the ability to use magic. Both would be more preferable; however, I am only able to pick one thing." He sat on the chair deciding what to choose.

Aqua was sitting on her chair eating away at a bag of chips. "Come on hurry it up already, like I said before I've got better things to do than sit here all day waiting on you to choose. Not that it's going to matter anyway. To think that someone I brought over here to help this world would take so long to choose." She said with a snotty tone.

Maximus' ears rung with a few select words that stuck out the most. "What did you just say," He stood up feeling his anger begin to boil. "You mean to tell me that you caused my heart to fail and brought me over to be reincarnated into this world against my will after all?" His voice deepened and his eyes bore a raging glare.

"Yeah, I admit it, now are you going to pick something or what?" She inquired chewing on a chip.

"I'm going to make your life a living Hell for this," He whispered as he lifted his finger to point at her. "The one thing I choose to take with me to this new world is, you." He said calmly keeping his anger in check.

She finished chewing on the chip as his previous words hadn't caught her attention just yet. "Alright, Maximus, just stand in the circle and don't move outside it," She stopped for a moment. "Wait, what did you say?"

The next moment another circle appeared below her that was followed by a woman with wings on her back. Maximus glanced over and saw the angel gliding down before them.

"Your request has been heard and will be carried out, along with the agreements you had made previously." She said.

"Wait, there has to be a mistake here, he can't take me, I'm a Goddess after all!" Aqua said feeling nervous and was on the verge of panicking.

"His wish complies and aligns with the contract agreements and is therefore honored by all of the Gods." The Angel replied. "Fear not Lady Aqua, for in your absence I will fill thy post until your return. When you defeat the Demon King, I will send an escort to fairy thee home."

"Wait seriously, I'm a healer not a fighter, I won't be able to defeat the Demon King! You can't do this to me, I'm a Goddess!" She screamed followed by her frantic crying. The next moment she heard Maximus bursting out with laughter.

"That will teach you to interfere with someone else's life. Once we get there, you'll know exactly what it's like to be a mortal. With all of that said if you stick with me, you might have a chance to get back to your home. Who knows, you might even like it there so much you might just change your mind. Once you have a taste of what our mortal lives are like, it might be better than sitting on a chair all day fairing people to and fro." He proclaimed while pointing at her.

She was unsure how to respond to him as she momentarily remained silent.

"Maximus, should you be successful in defeating the Demon King you may have one wish granted upon to you. Any one thing that your heart's desires will be yours." The Angel declared unto him.

"You're serious about this, alright I think I know just what I want." He said out loud.

Aqua turned back to him and wondered what he could be thinking as his gaze was set upon his hands.

"Fare thee well, may you have many joyous quests on your journey." The Angel said.

The next moment a bright light shined before the two of them and momentarily they were getting off a covered wagon. The next instant the two of them regained their focus and found themselves standing in the streets of the town of Axel. Maximus looked around to get his bearings, seeing what was around. Aqua was still in a state of silent panic, her face was showing no emotion just yet as reality had not taken its toll on her.

"So, this is the town where we are to start off, I guess. The people dress like many people I had met on my travels through the various small towns and villages of my world." He said out loud casting his gaze in all directions. "Well, I suppose it's time for…"

Before he could continue Aqua instantly latched onto his coat her silent panic had now escaped her mind and she was frantically trying to shake him.

"Send me back please, I'm a Goddess, I don't belong in this world at all. If I stay here, I'll end up going insane and wind up being dragged away force to live out my life as some slave!" She shouted at him with tears in her eyes.

The next moment a "Pause: Press Start Button" appeared before them and time stood still for a few seconds before continuing. Her panicking cries had everyone's attention and Maximus was starting to get annoyed.

"She calls herself a Goddess, this is not the way one should act, unbelievable." He said to himself.

The next moment he took hold of her shoulders. "Aqua!" He raised his voice to get her attention and she quickly stopped to listen. "Your acting very immature for one who calls themselves a Deity. Surely you can act well-mannered in a public setting and not like a helpless halfwit. You call yourself a Goddess, then start acting like one." He finished what was on his mind and she let his words ring in her mind a little bit more.

"He's right, I shouldn't be quaking just because I now reside in the mortal realm." She said to herself and stood a little taller letting go of his coat. She slightly coughed a little before continuing. "You're right, it's not befitting for a Goddess to act in such a manner. I am glad you were able to help me see that light." She said with a little confidence. "So, what are we going to do from here?" She inquired stepping close to him.

"Well, if we're going to defeat the Demon King, we will first need to become Adventurers, go on a lot of quests to gain some experience as well as know the layout of the land, grow our abilities, see what our strengths and weakness' are, perfect our fighting abilities, get to know our opponents nonchalantly so we can effectively plan our attack…" Maximus paused for a moment and noticed Aqua was standing there with a dazed and confused look wearing on her face. "You know what, let's start with the first step and go from there." He said with a small smile forming.

Maximus turned around and saw a man walking by. "Excuse me, mister, do you happen to know where the Adventurers Guild might be." Maximus had raised his hand to get his attention and inquired.

"I take it the two of you are new here," He stopped to point with his thumb at the street behind him. "Just go down this main street and it will take you to the center of town where the Guild Hall is."

"Thank you, my good sir." Maximus nodded and he grabbed Aqua by her hand, who was still looking dazed for some reason he knew not and proceeded down the road.

Aqua was unsure how to react when his hand grabbed hold of hers. It wasn't too tight or too soft. "His grip has a gentle grasp to it as well as a feeling of concern. I'm surprised he would take charge like that instead of leaving me behind only to panic and rush after him. Not to mention he's called me by my name instead of Goddess right off the bat." She said to herself. A small smile began to form and she admired how he was handling the situation.

Minutes later the two of them were standing before the Guild Hall.

"Alright, behind these doors our adventure will soon commence. I'd say we are both past the point of no return from here on out. There is no telling what might happen so I will only say this once," He stopped to turn his head to her. "Stick beside me and you will be able to make it through all of this and be able to go back home." He said.

She nodded her head with renewed confidence.

"Alright, let us start our journey." He said and took a step towards the doors of the Guild Hall.

Before his second step the two of them heard the sound of glass breaking and shouting between multiple people. Aqua flinched in fear of what was going on, turned to Maximus and noticed he was unfazed.

"Great, our first day here and there's already a fight taking place. Couldn't they do that someplace elsewhere, as in outside the city grounds. Oh, well, let's get this over with." Maximus said feeling annoyed of the situation that was brewing before them on the inside of the Guild doors. He turned to Aqua and noticed she was feeling fearful of what was going on. "Stay close to me and whatever happens keep your wits about you."

She hesitantly nodded at him and cling to his right arm. Maximus kicked the doors and both instantly swung open.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Thankful Welcome, First Meetings & A Bet:**

Maximus was not surprised that a few people had been fighting as they had all stopped to see who had caused another commotion. Before the two were three unsavory looking men with a young boy in a green and black track suit. The three of them showed signs that they had been in a brawl with the kid. The young lad was limp and nearly unconscious with bruises upon his face. His left eye was swollen and his nose was bleeding profusely. He saw a young woman with blonde hair lying on the ground with a large bruise on her right cheek.

Maximus had a death stare focused upon the thugs in the hall and was upset that not a single person was helping the boy out. He and Aqua walked up to them and he continued to stare them down. He noticed that Aqua was still by his side and turned back to the closest one to him.

"So, three big strapping and disgusting mongrels against one helpless young boy, who looks as though he's a beginner adventurer. What could the problem here be I wonder? He either must have done something so heinous to that young lady on the floor that it takes three of you to hold him down or," Maximus paused for a moment raising his left hand pointing to the ceiling. "The three brave mongrels are asserting their dominance in order to solidify their seats as number one and considering that no one else is doing anything about it I believe you might hold some sway over this Guild Hall." He finished.

The three of them dropped the boy and walked up to Maximus.

"What's it to you anyway, you looking to start some trouble with us? Because the way I see it we run this guild and will welcome whoever we want to. Now if you are wanting to join our little club, then you better forget about it." The thug said smiling with his awful decaying teeth showing.

Maximus quickly sized up the three thugs.

"Listen, I have had a rather emotional day. So, whatever your bad blood is boiling up within you, and I'm very well sure it's unfounded, I would appreciate enormously if you leave this town in peace and never return here ever again." Maximus said with a smile and tilted his head.

"You better get out of here fella or you will get hurt." The thug said with a sinister tone.

Maximus nodded his head and step back away from them. "Very well then, since you insisted."

Both Aqua and he took another step back when one of the thugs grabbed her arm.

"Hold on, we never said that you can leave." He said laughing.

Maximus instantly grabbed the man's wrist. "I insist you let the woman go or that hand will never touch anything again." He said with an intense gaze that was starting to make the man feel unnerving.

The other two men grabbed his shoulders and before they could continue Maximus squeezed down on the wrist, crushing it with extreme ease. He pulled Aqua close to him, wrapping his right arm around her and lifted her off the ground. He dipped down and spun to his left ducking underneath the arm of the thug on his left. He effortlessly moved him out of the way for Aqua to pass by unharmed. He grabbed hold, with his free hand, the man's jaw and maneuvered his right leg behind his opponent's legs. He then threw the man down to the ground landing headfirst onto the cobblestone floor. The crunching crack of the back of his head echoed loudly.

Maximus quickly swung his left arm back and slammed it against the other man's neck. At the same time, he positioned his left leg behind the man and threw his body to the ground. The thug landed on his head and the same echoing sound filled the large room. Maximus finished facing the last of them who was still gripping his broken wrist. To everyone in the room it had all happened within an instant.

Maximus pointed at him with a lifeless stare that made the man shiver in fear. "Get out of this town and never return."

The man quickly ran out of the open doors screaming as though he had seen a ghost. The people within the Guild Hall began to cheer for him. Aqua was feeling dizzy and was unaware of what was going on. He let her go and helped up the young woman and the boy to sit on the stools near the bar.

"Thank you so much mister for your help, if not for your intervention this young boy might have met his end." She said feeling grateful for him.

Maximus took in her outfit and noticed she was wearing a revealing shirt and short shorts.

Maximus nodded and gave her a thumbs up and she replied mirroring him. She continued on with her day as she headed back to her desk to the left.

"Oh man, so much for me getting a lot of attention to start my adventure. Why did I think to spout out that nonsense of taking on the Demon King and become the "Mightiest Adventurer of All Time" crap? I should have known something like that could happen to me. Punks like those guys always pick on the losers." Kazuma said out loud to himself.

"Hey kid," Maximus said to get his attention and grabbed his shoulder. "How are you holding up?" He inquired of the young boy.

"I'll be fine in a little while; I just need to rest." He started to fall to the side.

"Whoa, don't fall asleep on my buddy." Maximus said holding him up. "Tell me what your name is and how many fingers am I holding up."

He looked up and saw Maximus spinning around in front of him. "My name is twelve and you have Kazuma fingers up." He said with heavy eyes and a stupor tone.

"Can anyone heal this boy before he falls asleep!" Maximus shouted to everyone and instantly a mage approached. "You need to heal him quickly or his concussion will grow worse." He ordered the mage.

"Right, heal." She said and after a few moments he was completely healed of his injuries and his mind returned to normal.

"Kazuma, how is your vision?" Maximus inquired.

"Wait, how do you know my name and you have two fingers up this time. What just happened?" He inquired of everyone.

"You got your head rocked pretty good and hard kiddo." One of the adventurers said.

"So, what shall we do about these two punks?" Another asked.

The two men Maximus had dispatched were lightly twitching and there was still life left in their eyes. Maximus approached and grabbed them by their arms. He walked toward the doors dragging them behind him.

"We get rid of them properly," Maximus said and paused for a moment to turn to another adventurer near him. Aqua was still at his side making sure to follow his earlier instructions. "How far is the nearest gate from this location, be exact."

"It's about six hundred meters to the east gate from here. Why do you want to know?" The man asked.

"Because of what I am about to do." Maximus replied. He looked out the door and began to judge his strength earlier. "My strength is far more than what I first thought when fighting those thugs, not to mention my speed is quicker as well. I know this isn't what I normally am like, however I need to master this as quickly as possible and this is the perfect setting for now." He said to himself.

"So, what are you going to do with them?" Aqua inquired of him.

"This angle will do, now let's see how far they can fly, step back Aqua." Maximus said.

The next instant he took a step forward pulling his right arm back and thrusted it forward. The first body was launched with such force and speed that rivaled a falcon's speed when diving down on its prey. Maximus took another step and launched the last man towards the gate. Near instantly both bodies landed far past the gate that happened to land on the third thug escaping by horse. The force of the impact rivaled a boulder falling from the side of a mountain.

"I wonder how far those two flew just now?" Maximus said massaging his wrists.

Everyone was astonished at what he could do. Aqua couldn't help herself but keep her gaze upon him. He stood there so tall and defiant looking with his gaze focused in the direction he threw the two men. She also felt more drawn towards him than before.

"He's definitely the one who will defeat the Demon King and release these people from his torment." She paused thinking for a moment before continuing. "I want his babies," She blurted out barely over a whisper.

"What did you say Aqua?" Maximus asked not catching what she said.

"Uh, uh, nothing just saying that you are very amazing and so strong. I mean you were great. What were we talking about again?" She panicked trying not to sound so obvious but was failing miserably.

Maximus laughed a little as she approached him leaching onto his arm. She wanted to inspect him closer feeling his muscles on his arms.

"What are you doing?" Maximus asked feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Just checking to see if you are injured." She replied acting immature. "Yep, you are okay." She shouted.

"Well that's just great, everyone is now praising him for what happened earlier. If I was half his size, I would have no problem handling those thugs." Kazuma stopped for a moment as he recognized Aqua standing next to Maximus. "Wh-what?!" He shouted pointing at her.

Both Maximus and Aqua turned to look at him and wondered what he was shouting about.

"What are you doing here, how did you come here, and didn't you recognize me earlier?" He shouted.

The two gazed at each other for a minute and she finally recognized who he was.

"Oh, I remember you." She paused to lean up to Maximus. "He's the boy who died so pathetically, the one I was telling you about before you appeared before me." She briefly explained and began to laugh uncontrollably.

"You know it's not funny to make fun of someone's death in public. Now then, we need to get registered so we can become adventurers." Maximus said and proceeded to the nearby desk to gather information on where to register.

"Wait, he didn't laugh at me like Aqua was doing?" Kazuma said to himself. "Wait up, I was wondering if I could join you and maybe the two of us can form a party. I'm sure it could be beneficial for both of us. I should let you know that I know a thing or two about being an adventurer."

"Don't you mean the three of us? Also, why should we bother about letting you join us, what possible thing could you contribute to our party?" Aqua asked with a snotty superior tone.

"Look I know how these adventuring things are handled. You register with the guild, find yourself a place to stay, get equipment, and start going on quests. I could give you pointers about all of this." Kazuma explained.

"Alright, in return I will teach you how to defend yourself so that next time you won't need to rely on someone else to save you." Maximus said.

He turned around to face Kazuma and Aqua was surprised he would let him in. She was going to protest but decided it would be best not to.

"That will go double for you Aqua." Maximus said looking over in her direction.

"Huh, why should I have to learn how to fight? Isn't this kind a thing something you two should have to worry about? I'm a Goddess after all, I shouldn't have to fight anyone. Everybody should be bowing before me, worshiping me, and spoiling me rotten!" She protested.

"You will learn this whether you like it or not!" Maximus snapped at her and she quickly stopped pouting.

"Well, how about we get to registering with this guild and get underway." Kazuma said. "I get to learn some fighting skills before I go on my very first quest. I will eventually become the awesome guy who could take down anyone bigger than me next time. Ha haa, this is actually starting to go my way since I crossed paths with him." Kazuma said to himself with a big smile.

Maximus continued to walk up to the desk and saw the young woman from earlier.

"Hello and welcome to the Guild, my name is Luna how can I help you today?" Luna said and soon noticed Maximus.

Her gaze was fixated upon him and she began to feel nervous being in his presence. It wasn't because of his strength or his tough demeanor he was giving off. It was his gentle touch she had felt when he helped her up. She began to blush feeling an overwhelming fondness towards him.

"Are you doing ok, your not too banged up, are you?" Maximus inquired.

Her ears rang with the kind tone he had inquired about her well being and the look of concern in his eyes focusing on her.

"Uh, no, I'm fine, thank you for asking." She said casting her gaze downward feeling an overwhelming shyness come over her.

"I'm glad to hear that you are ok. I was wondering if me and my party could register to become adventurers." Maximus said.

"Oh yes, I can certainly help you with that. All you three need is the registration fee and we could get you started from there." She said with excitement meeting potential newcomers.

"Wait, there's a registration fee?" Kazuma asked and turned to Aqua and Maximus. "Hey, would either of you happen to have any money?"

"Huh, I didn't have time to grab my purse because somebody decided to bring me along without warning." Aqua said feeling frustrated at Maximus.

Maximus turned around and looked at the two of them with an embarrassed look on his face. "I had a feeling I should have taken those mongrel's purses. Oh well, I guess we are going to have to find another way to get some money." He said scratching the back of his head.

"You are so useless aren't you." Kazuma said feeling annoyed.

"Hey, don't call me… I mean the both of us useless." Aqua shot back.

"I agree with her, considering our situation you should have known there would be a fee to register to become an adventurer." Maximus snapped at him.

Kazuma was speechless for a moment. "Hey, don't try to pin this all on me…"

"Yet you claimed you had working knowledge of how this all works or were you just lying through your teeth. I usually pride myself in planning far in advance for certain situations, this was one that I was completely unaware of." Maximus fired at him standing there with his arms folded across his chest. Aqua stood next to him mirroring his posture and nodding her head.

"Well, you should have taken their money off of them so that we could have registered." Kazuma snapped back.

"That was before we had been notified of this fee. Surely you can't expect everyone to think past the unknown in a world they do not yet fully understand." Maximus fired back.

Kazuma tried to think of something clever to say but decided not to but heads with them any further seeing how futile it was.

The three of them sat at the table near the bar with their heads leaning down. The next moment one of the waitresses approached them.

"Are the three of you ready to order?" She inquired.

"No, we're going to need another minute." Kazuma quickly answered.

"Oh, ok." The waitress said and walked away.

Aqua was sitting there wondering what she could do to improve their situation. She looked up and happen to see an old man wearing religious clothing. She saw this as an opportunity to ensure Maximus would be hers.

"Well, I guess it's my turn gentlemen." She said standing up and turned to face Maximus. "Maximus I would like to make a little wager with you. Care to take my bet?" She inquired of him.

Maximus turned to look at her and wondered what she could be thinking with the childish smile that was forming on her face. "What kind of wager are you proposing exactly?"

"Oh, just that there's a member of the Axis Cult that worships me over there. I bet that I can get him to believe I am the Goddess everyone knows me as and that he will donate money to our cause." She said leaning closer to Maximus. "If I win, you will have to join the Axis Cult and pray to me three times a day, deal?"

Maximus looked over and thought that there was no way it was going to work. "Alright, you're on." He responded.

"Aren't you going to make a wager with me as well?" Kazuma inquired feeling left out.

"Silence shut-in-neet, you're not even worth betting against." She quickly responded.

Kazuma became annoyed by her reply and turned away. "Useless Goddess."

Aqua began to walk to the religious member all the while thinking to herself. "Once I get him to join the religion and worship me, I will eventually move to force him to do whatever I want. Next, I will repay his dedication by giving myself to him for one night and I will carry his seed within me. We will have a powerful child who will bring everyone back to me, the true Goddess of this world. It will be brilliant."

The next moment she remembered that he had not placed any bet against hers and turned around. "Uh, Maximus, what are you going to wager against me?" She said with her eyes closed and a smile on her face.

"I'm confident you can succeed in this endeavor." He said with his arms folded across his chest and eyes closed.

"I wonder if he is planning something just as equally detailed as my plans." She said to herself.

"You realize she's basically going to make you a slave to her whim, right?" Kazuma said to Maximus.

"I sensed that the moment her eyes first set upon that man of the cloth over there. Not to mention what she had said when I was getting rid of those thugs." Maximus responded.

Meanwhile Aqua approached the old man.

"Hello kind sir, what is your denomination? I am Lady Aqua the Goddess who is worship by the Axis Cult and I am in need of your assistance. Would you kindly donate money so that my followers and I could register with the Guild to become adventurers?" She proclaimed to him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I am part of the Eris Order. I believe the Goddess Eris is the junior to Lady Aqua. I couldn't help but noticed you and the other two were coming up short with the registration fee earlier. I will be glad to give you money and hope that it helps you on your journey." He informed her pulling out four pieces of Gold Eris coins.

She couldn't help but be shocked by his reply in believing she wasn't the Goddess.

"Think of this as a moment of fate that brought you to me. May the Goddess Eris' blessings be upon you. Oh, and you should also not pretend to be someone you are not, no matter how devoted member you are. " He said with a smile on his face.

Both Maximus and Kazuma couldn't help but overhear the short exchange and giggled for a few moments. Aqua returned to the table they were at devastated that she wasn't recognized to be the Goddess of her denomination. Her eyes were beginning to be filled with tears as her plan to make Maximus hers was falling apart before her very eyes.

"I find out that not only was he from a different order, but from my fellow Goddess' order of this world. He also recognized her as my junior and that he was kind enough to us some money." She began to cry more.

Maximus approached and grabbed her shoulders and she looked up at him with a sad look on her face trying to hold back the crying.

"Since you were able to get one of the conditions met, I believe the both of us can place a condition upon each other." Maximus said.

The moment after he had spoken to her a light of happiness quickly filled her eyes.

"Before you choose, make sure you think this through. You only get one of the two things you wagered earlier." Maximus said.

Aqua stood there for a moment thinking carefully of what condition she could place upon him. "Alright, you have to pray to me three times a day and since it's already past morning and just after noon, I believe you owe me a prayer." She said to him. "This will be perfect, he will eventually become a member this way, even if it will take a long time." She said to herself smiling inwardly.

"Very well," Maximus knelt before her and she was surprised by his actions. "Oh, Goddess Aqua, please allow our journey to be filled to the brim with much success. Amen." He said before her. Maximus stood up and took hold of her shoulder. "Now you have to do something for me."

She gulped the saliva that was forming in her mouth. "Is he going to want me to…" She stopped what she was thinking and wondered if he will have her do something that was a part of her plans for him.

"I'm going to need you to beg me for forgiveness," He paused for a moment.

"Huh, what do you mean I should be begging you for forgiveness? What did I ever do to you to warrant such a thing?" She questioned him with anger mounting in her voice and she began to shake his coat back and forth.

"Did you forget that you had me die by your hand just so that I could come to this world against my will and eventually clean up the mess you and the other Deities are too lazy to clean up yourself. So, you have to beg for my forgiveness three times a day, morning, noon, and night, until I feel like you have earned it." Maximus explained feeling his anger mounting because of her forgetting what she did to him.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I am wanting to get registered to be an adventurer. So, why don't we do that and you two can finish this later." Kazuma chimed in between them.

"There's no way I am going to beg you everyday, three times a day, just to satisfy your needs." Aqua shot at him turning around and crossing her arms in protest.

"Fine, then you will not get another prayer from me ever again." Maximus responded and walked with Kazuma to the registration desk.

"Huh, wait a minute, ok, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please will you ever forgive me of committing such a horrible crime upon you." She pleaded holding onto his coat and being dragged across the floor.

"That's not the worst attempt, but cry all you want, I won't forgive you so easily. I will make you rue your actions." Maximus said to her.

The three of them approached the desk and readied themselves for their adventure to begin once again. Luna was leaning over washing the desk and noticed their return. Her eyes turned towards them, more so Maximus and wondered what Aqua was trying to apologize to him about.

"Oh, I take it the three of you are ready then?" Luna inquired.

The three of them looked at each other and back at her to respond in unison. "Yes, we are."


	3. Chapter 3

**Registration, The Hard Workload, & Dangerous Encounter:**

Luna stood up to place an odd crystal ball on the desk. "Alright now let's see if," She paused for a moment and noticed they didn't have enough for the fee. "I'm terribly sorry, but you do not have enough for all three of you to register with the Guild just yet." She informed them feeling a little bad for their situation.

"Oh man, just when I thought we had a break we still come up short in some way or the other." Kazuma complained.

Maximus approached Luna and leaned upon the desk with his most charming look on his face. She stood there wondering what he was going to do or say. "You know I couldn't help but notice those big, gorgeous, luscious golden eyes of yours. Has anyone ever told you how they can catch the light of the golden sun at the right time and angle?" He said to her.

She felt a little relieved about what he said thinking he was going to mention something about her chest like most of the men would. She found herself being entranced by his presence and his words. Maximus noticed that she was beginning to blush a lot and she momentarily looked away innocently.

"Come on doll, I'm sure you can allow a special discount for the three of us for what I did in service to the Guild Hall earlier. Will you allow this to happen for me, I promise I will make it up to you later." Maximus said gently pressing his hand on her chin and motioned her head to look upon him again.

"O-o-okay, I can do that for you. Besides it's the least the Guild can do for you considering what you did for it." She struggled to say feeling his graceful touch and her nerves spiraling out of control.

"Man, Maximus is a natural at swaying women to do what he wants. How is he doing that?" Kazuma wondered as he tried to study what had transpired before him.

"If she thinks she can get a head start at winning him over, she has another thing coming. Maximus is mine and no one else's. I will not allow anyone get in my way to bring all the followers in worshiping me." Aqua glared at Luna with anger and jealousy mounting up.

Maximus took a step back still having his hand on her chin and slowly glided it away from Luna. She couldn't help but wanting his touch to stay on her chin a little longer. She quickly stopped what she was doing and proceeded.

"Okay, all you have to do is place your hand over the ball and you will start your registration." Luna instructed them.

Kazuma jumped ahead of the two and held his hand over the crystal ball. "Alright, I am so ready to begin my quest." He shouted with joy. "I wonder what latent abilities I'll have. Hello to my new life and goodbye to my hermit status.

Some of the guys near the bar heard him screaming and began to laugh and mock him.

The crystal ball shined a dim light and the next moment the contraptions around it spun at high speeds. After it was done it shot a beam of light upon the card below it.

Once finished Luna picked it up began to read his stats on the card she was holding. "Alright, your name is Kazuma Satou; interesting name." She said reading the card further. "Most of your stats are below average, your intelligence is above average, that's good, and your luck is extremely high. I'm sorry but with these stats I would recommend you becoming a merchant than an adventurer." She informed him.

"What?! She's trying to ruin my life as an adventurer." He whispered to himself feeling annoyed. "Thanks, but I still want to be an adventurer." He replied feeling defeated and disappointed of the results.

"Ok, but cheer up once you level up you will be able to change your class for a better one." She said trying to raise his spirits.

"If he thought he was going to get anything higher than what the results say, he truly is nothing more than a dreamer. His frail small body and short frame are sure signs of a weakling. With his intelligence being as high as she claims he could pick up hand to hand combat training quickly. This means he won't have to train for too long before he could handle his own weight. At least I hope that's the case for him." Maximus said to himself. "I wonder what results Aqua will get, being a Goddess and all?" Maximus wondered to himself.

Aqua went next and the results happened much quicker than Kazuma's.

"Oh my, this is incredible!" Luna was shocked at what the results were.

Luna picked up the card and began to read the results. "Your name is Aqua and your stats show your intelligence being below average and your luck is the worst I have seen. But all of your other stats are amazingly high!"

"Does that mean I am amazingly incredible?" Aqua inquired with a confused face which began showing signs of cheer.

"No, incredible would be putting it lightly. With these stats you could start out at a higher-class level either a Crusader, Swordsman, or an Arch-priest!" Luna said with amazement.

"Since you don't have a Goddess title, I will take the Arch-priest to heal my allies." Aqua said feeling accomplished and turned to Maximus.

"Yes, I think that is a great idea. That class overall has a number of healing and support spells that will allow you to aid your allies. The class is so versatile it could even stand on the front lines against the Demon King's armies." Luna said with amazement.

The Guild members all began to cheer for her after what they all heard.

"She's trying to steal my thunder!" Kazuma said to himself and remembered that Maximus hadn't gone yet. "I get the feeling he is going to be amazing as her. This sucks so bad."

Luna turned her attention towards Maximus and everyone piped down waiting for his results. They all whispered to each other as though they were making bets of various kinds.

"Hey, want to wager his strength is max?" A man with a Mohawk said.

"That's kind of obvious, how about he will have only average stats for the rest of them." The man next to him said.

"You're on." The Mohawk guy quickly shot back and many more joined in on the bets.

Maximus held his hand over the crystal ball and a brighter light radiated the entire room and everyone braced their eyes.

"That has never happened before." Luna picked up his card and was extremely shocked by his results. "This is quite the finding," She paused for a moment quivering after seeing the results. "I know the ball never lies, yet this is the highest stats I have ever seen for a new adventurer. Your name is Maximus, such a strong name, and your stats are all extremely high. You and Kazuma have the same level of luck, but everything else is nothing short of incredible. No, that's putting it lightly as well, you are as if perfection itself!" She declared.

Everyone began to cheer for him, more so than Aqua and Kazuma combined.

"Dare I say you would be the more likely to defeat the Demon King and his armies. Not to mention who would have guessed that two people in one day could start off with such high stats and high-class levels." She finished saying.

"Let's hear it for Aqua and Maximus, the "Duo who will defeat the Demon King!" One person shouted. The rest of the room began to cheer for the two of them. Aqua quickly stood by his side her arm wrapped around his and waved at everyone.

"Thank you for all of the praise, you're all too kind." She said with an accomplished feeling.

Luna kept her eyes focused on Maximus who was lightly smiling and waving to everyone. "He is strong and bold when he needs to be as evident from what happened earlier, then be kind, gentle, and charming the next moment. Seeing the display of his strength earlier and feeling his gentle touch moments ago," She paused for a moment to hand him his card and he winked at her with a thumbs up. Luna responded with a starstruck look in her eyes and at the same time began to blush extremely noticeably. "I want to marry that man." She said to herself and began thinking about that event.

After everything settled down and all were back to their usual daily activities Maximus and the others were standing by the same table as before.

"Alright let's go on a quest you two!" Kazuma shouted with joy.

"Hold on," Maximus said shooting down Kazuma's excitement. "We only have fifty-thousand Eris left. True Luna was able to persuade the Guild to cutting the price of admission in half, however we can't go barreling out into the wild right away. From what information and tips everyone gave me earlier, even if we were to buy ourselves the basic gear, room and board at the local hotel, and meals we wouldn't even have enough to last us but a few days. Which means we're going to start this adventure by getting a job." Maximus explained.

"If it's not one thing, it's something else entirely." Kazuma said feeling depressed.

"So, we're going to get a job huh, I think I can work with that. So long as you are by my side, I will do everything to please you, even working hard for a living." Aqua said pressing herself against Maximus' and her arms wrapped around his right arm. "I will not lose you to that little tramp, Maximus and I are meant for each other." She said to herself.

She began to think about herself with their first child in one of the temples she is worshiped at receiving gifts and praises. She also imagined her same image being engraved on stone statues all across the land and the world beyond.

Maximus turned to look down at Aqua seeing the near identical star struck eyes Luna had for him. "What are you doing?" He inquired feeling annoyed.

She showed no signs of responding or recognizing as she was still thinking about that possible future.

"So, what are we going to do then, how will the three of us make any ends meet?" Kazuma inquired with a panicking tone beginning to mount.

"I do remember hearing about random jobs throughout the town when I first was walking towards the Guild Hall. We can work for a time until we have enough to buy some gear. As for rooming, we may be in luck with the local hotel. I suggest we head over there now to reserve our rooms. Another guy told me that they may give us a discount, but there's no telling the price per day. So, we'll have to take that in strides." Maximus informed them.

Aqua was still mesmerized by her ultimate goal of having the entire world worshipping her and still attached to his arm. He was feeling annoyed even more when he looked upon her once again. He stood up and she instantly mirrored him.

"Ok, you can let go now." He said.

"Huh, what are we talking about?" She asked feeling lost.

"He said you can let go of him now, can't you see you are bothering him. What is with you by the way, you've been acting all weird with him for the past hour, ever since he threw those guys out." Kazuma explained.

Aqua quickly shot an intense and evil glare at him. He leaned back with his hands up scared of what she might do. The next moment she realized she was being too clingy and released her grasp from him. Maximus began to massage his arm sensing feeling flowing back. The three of them headed to the hotel to see what rooms were available.

They arrived at the hotel and approached the desk to inquire about a room. To their misfortune they discovered there weren't any rooms available and left feeling down and disappointed. They proceeded to find work in the town that involved construction work. Their first day was helping with the wall. Kazuma struggled to keep up with the intense workload while Maximus seemed to breeze right through it. Aqua was just carefree in her duties and didn't mind sweating hard as she was trying to get Maximus' attention.

Later that night the three of them were able to pig out at the Guild Hall with the large amount of money still left over. They all agreed upon Maximus hanging onto it since he looked the less likely to be picked pocketed from. They were enjoying themselves when one of the guys approached them. Both Aqua and Kazuma feared the worst as Maximus kept his gaze upon the man. Aqua had attached herself to Maximus' arm and Kazuma hid behind him. The next moment the guy smiled with a drink in his hand and they all began laughing and drinking the night away.

After they left both Aqua and Kazuma regurgitated from drinking too much. Aqua's vomit, strangely enough to Kazuma and Maximus' disbelief, was white with various colors. He helped her hold back her hair and once finished the three of them headed for the stables. They were told earlier it was the only place that had room. Maximus was disturbed by the news that nowhere in the entire town had space available and Kazuma shared the same reaction.

Maximus convinced the farmer to let them stay for free in exchange he helped the farmer with the chores. There were only two stalls left empty with the others having horses in them and one other man. Aqua had declared she would only be in the one Maximus was going to sleep in. She blurted out her reason by mentioning what Maximus had told her before they entered the Guild Hall. Kazuma was feeling a little jealous that he was getting all of her attention.

The next morning, Kazuma left to work around the city once again and repeated the same events as the day before. Maximus stayed at the farm to assist with the various chores. Aqua decided to stay with him and mostly sat around admiring him. Later that night they returned to the Guild Hall for dinner and eventually returned to the stables. The farmer was waiting for them and approached Maximus.

"Excuse me Maximus, I was wondering if you could do something rather important for me." The old farmer said to get his attention.

"Certainly, how can I be of use for you in payment for our stalls in the stables." Maximus replied.

"I was wondering if you would be so kind as to watch over my flock for the entire night. Some wolves were spotted some distance from here earlier today and I,"

"I could easily do that for you old timer. Besides it's the least I could do for you." Maximus said to him before he could finish. "But there is one question I have to ask; how is it there are wild animals about? I thought they were driven out of the entire area due to another adventurers involvement." Maximus inquired.

"I don't know why but something has been driving them back of late. Well I'm going to turn in for the night, be safe and if you kill any wolves you should take them into town. There is a man who will give you one thousand Eris per wolf." The old farmer said. He handed Maximus his bow and arrow and a short sword then walked back to his house.

Kazuma and Aqua both were ecstatic and agreed to join him despite being hungover and about to pass out. Kazuma quickly took the sword making Maximus annoyed and he took the bow and arrow. He instructed Aqua to stay near him until it was over.

Not even an hour had past and both Aqua and Kazuma were passed out from their hangovers. Maximus felt even more annoyed and thought them to be stupid to take the job. He sat them up against the barn wall next to him. He would periodically check in on them to ensure they were safe as he made his rounds.

Later that night Maximus approached and began to quickly wake them up. They were slowly rising from their sleep when the two heard heavy footsteps approaching the barn. Maximus had already rounded up the various animals into it after hearing the large creature for the first time, minutes ago.

"What is it, what's going on?" Aqua asked as she rubbed her eyes and began to yawn.

Maximus quickly covered her mouth from making too much sound. "Shh, I'm trying to listen further." He whispered.

She noticed his gaze was toward the directions of the heavy stomping. He turned back for a split moment and within his eyes she saw genuine fear. Both Kazuma and her began to quiver in fear hearing the steps and the heavy breathing. The creature's growl was low as to not give away its position. The three of them were unsure as to what beast was lurking within the cloak of darkness that covered their surroundings.

"Kazuma, how good are you with the bow?" He inquired keeping his voice to a whisper.

"Your kidding me right, I couldn't be able to use one let alone know how to." He whispered back.

Maximus turned to Aqua and she shook her head to the sides.

"The two of them are useless in this situation, so much for support." Maximus said to himself.

The next moment a pair of great big yellow eyes appeared just beyond the range of light produced by the fire. Maximus kept himself in front of the light to judge how large the creature was. For the moment he could only make out the eyes and the outlines of what looked like a lot of hair circling around them. He thought of it as a mane from a lion.

Slowly his eyes were slightly taking in the rest of the creature's form. It's body was long, nearly ten feet at least in length. The three of them heard the flapping of wings and the low growl once more. Maximus took hold of the torch and threw it at the creature. The creature's body was completely visible by the light, revealing its identity, the last piece of evidence that gave it away. Maximus saw the face of a man upon the creature.

Kazuma immediately recognized what he saw. "No way, that's a Manticore!" He said feeling petrified.

Maximus barely heard him and was unfamiliar of the name and wondered about the creature. He quickly grabbed hold of the bow and arrow to let loose a quick shot. The arrow soared through the darkness towards the creature. He instantly picked up the sword and charged after the beast. The arrow found its mark, twisting into the neck, but was unable to puncture the creature. The hair within the mane was too think and it hung there harmlessly. Before the creature could react, Maximus had already swung the sword to aim for its eyes.

The Manticore swung its tail after him and Maximus barely reacted in time to avoid the scaly whip. He had just seen what little light from the fire to warn him of the danger. He raised his sword to deflect the strike and continue to thrust forward. His sword found its mark and dug into the side of the beast.

It roared in pain and swung its right front paw at him and struck Maximus before he could react. The blow was a powerful one that sent him falling back. He heard the sound of his clothing being torn and barely felt the claws nearly hitting his skin. Maximus fell on his back and rolled to his right the moment he touched the ground. He got to his feet immediately and saw his foe turning to chase after him.

Maximus rushed after it, knowing full well it was not the wisest choice, yet he knew he needed to protect his party members. The moment he was next to it he threw multiple combos of punches and kicks all around its body and upon its face. He continued to move the moment after his strike hit there target. His powers were beginning to develop and soon his aura was visible for the others to see. After a full minute of fighting Maximus slammed one last blow striking just underneath the nose. The force broke a large sliver of bone and it pierced the brain, killing it almost instantly. The Manticore fell to the ground lifeless and the rumbling sound of its body hitting the ground echoed throughout the area.

Both Kazuma and Aqua's gaze had stayed fixated on his battle against the massive creature. They had been entranced by the way he charged boldly after it.

Shortly after the fight the light from his aura was diming down and Maximus was controlling the rage of his demonic side originating from his Nephilim's powers. His powers were already filling to the brim of boiling over and he could feel himself nearly losing control.

"Breath, breath, keep it contained. Don't allow yourself to be enveloped by its power." Maximus said to himself trying to hold it all back. "I see a big difference without the Gauntlets of the Archangel, Zadkiel, being in my possession, I might have lost myself a lot quicker when fighting back on my home world, Lorin."

After it was over, he finally forced himself to curb his demonic rage and was back to how he was before the fight. Aqua and Kazuma still reframed from talking to him sensing the ominous power from him. Maximus approached the two and glanced down at them.

"Are the two of you alright?" He inquired of them.

Kazuma nervously nodded his head with a frightened look upon his face and Aqua was still staring at him with an amazed look on hers that was trying to hide the fear within her. She had sensed the demonic aura from him and was unsure how to react.

"When he said there was a curse upon his entire ancestral line, I should have been more careful and looked into it a little more before granting him that relief. Did he have a demon for an ancestor at one point in time and that was why there was a curse to keep all of them from reaching their full potential in terms of power?" She wondered to herself.

Before she could inquire more from him the old farmer arrived with several men from town. They all immediately saw Maximus standing before his party. They soon saw the shock and fearful gaze Aqua and Kazuma had on Maximus.

"What in all the heavens was that sound minutes ago?" The old farmer inquired.

"Hey, look over here." One of the men shouted to get the others attention.

They all turned to see the Manticore lying lifeless on the ground in front of the fence. Several were in disbelief after seeing multiple impact indentions upon the creature and the sword. They all turned to look upon Maximus and when they approached, they saw the heavy bruises on his knuckles.

"No way, did he just kill a Manticore with his bare hands?" The farmer asked out loud with a sense of amazement.

The first light was soon to peak over the rolling hills and everyone congratulated him from saving the farm. Maximus and a few others placed the beast upon a handcart and helped him roll it into town. He was told there was a place to take it and sell its meat and hide for a bountiful price considering its rarity and prestige nature of it. Soon rumors of his deed began to spread around the town like wildfire and everyone was willing to give him a celebration.

Maximus and the other two were at the Guild Hall having a feast and enjoying a relaxing day. Kazuma couldn't help his jealousy be out of control as he sat there watching everyone give Maximus praise.

"Oh, look it's Maximus, he's so brave to take on a Manticore with his bear hands and win, blah blah blah." He said to himself as he continued to watch what was transpiring before him. "If I had his strength or at least a good portion of it, I would be just as amazing as he is."

The day continued on and despite the great accomplishments Maximus was still unable to find a place for them to stay. They went back to their stalls at days end and repeated the cycle as before. On the fourth night Kazuma was lying down in his bundle of hay about to fall asleep when he shot up screaming. "God damn it!"

Maximus heard his cry and took a moment to see what the commotion was about. "Kazuma, is there something the matter?"

Aqua had walked up to his stall rubbing her eyes feeling burnt out from working earlier. "What's the matter, do you need to go pee or something? If so, can't you get Maximus to walk with you?" She took a big yawn and began to act as though she was having a hard time standing up and leaned against Maximus, wrapping her arms around his.

"This is so not fair; I did not sign up for this at all! Tomorrow the three of us should go on a quest instead of working our butts off only to come back and sleep in this stupid barn!" Kazuma shouted.

The next moment there was a loud bang against Kazuma's stall wall. "Hey, why don't you put a sock in it and go back to sleep, I'm trying to get some rest here!" A man shouted.

Kazuma began to panic thinking the guy would walk out on him. "Uh, I'm sorry, I'll keep it down I promise!"

"Alright, tomorrow we'll go see what's available and take one. We have plenty to buy suitable gear and equipment for such a thing." Maximus said. "It's just very disheartening the equipment we will most likely need is so expensive. This would make it hard for anyone to go on quests. Even for a beginner's town for aspiring adventurer's, this is insane. It's no wonder many stay behind for so long before pushing to greater heights." Maximus said to himself.

Maximus turned in for the night after being relieved by a hired hand the farmer had to give Maximus the rest of the night off. Once he laid down on the bundle of hay Aqua took noticed and began to make a move.

"Maximus, I'm feeling cold, would you kindly let me lie next to you to keep warm?" She asked him in a kind manner that he hadn't seen her do before. "This is it; this is my chance to get him to start caring for me and soon after that,"

Before she could continue with her thought, she felt Maximus' large coat fall on top of her. She sat up and noticed that he had covered her up.

"Here you go, this should keep you warm for the night." Maximus said.

Aqua was disappointed he didn't join with her in the hay. She was about to snap at him but noticed he was fast asleep sitting against the wall. "Resist all you want; I will see my plans through no matter what." She said to herself.

The next morning the three of them headed into town to begin their first quest.


	4. Chapter 4

**The First Quest Part One:**

Maximus and the other two were making their way through town to look for gear they need. To their dismay not much equipment was left. Maximus was annoyed that the status hadn't changed after being told to return to see if anything would be made or had been traded in. They were able to get a pair of used short swords for him and Kazuma. Aqua didn't see anything she liked and decided not to get anything.

"Hey, Aqua, aren't you going to grab something for yourself?" Maximus asked after seeing her beginning to walk away.

"Hmm, no, they don't have anything that would be befitting for a Goddess such as I. I'll stop by another time to see what they have. Besides, as a Goddess I will not need such mortal weapons to defeat my foes, my raw strength is more than enough." Aqua said confidently.

"I'm not so sure about that, I get the feeling that she's going to be totally useless in this quest." Kazuma said to himself not wanting to say it out loud in front of Maximus for fear he might scold him.

"I need to show him that I am capable of pulling my own weight in this upcoming kill quest. Just how he defeated the Manticore with his bare hands, I will fight with mine. Once I do, he will see me as someone who is worthy of him." She said to herself thinking about her master plan once again.

"So, what kind of quest are we going on again?" Kazuma inquired of Maximus.

"The farmer said Giant Toads are beginning to frequent the entire area. Apparently, this time of the year is their mating season and they need plenty of food to have the energy to lay their eggs. The farmer put in the request with the Guild and after discussing with him in detail earlier we only need to kill five of them in a span of three days." Maximus informed them.

"That doesn't sound so bad at all." Kazuma said and paused for a moment.

"There's more to this than what I have explained thus far." Maximus said with a concerned tone.

The other two leaned in a little closer to hear what else he had to say on the matter.

"According to the farmer, goats are their most preferred meal and it's not unusually common for farmers, young children, and even new adventurers to go missing during these times. We should take extra precautions on this quest as well, because from what I gathered some people believe the saliva they produce has a paralyzing effect. Though I rather not take the chance and find out. Also, I talked with Luna from the Guild and she said we can take the toads we kill back here for a little extra reward with the meat merchants." He finished explaining.

Aqua had an angry feeling come over her after hearing he had chatted with Luna. "That big chested harpy thinks she can ruin my plans, well she has another thing coming!" She whispered to herself turning off to the side with her right fist clinched and raised to her head.

"Huh, did you say something Aqua?" Both Kazuma and Maximus inquired of her.

"No, I didn't." She quickly turned around to face them with a carefree smile on her face.

"Alright then, I know I haven't been able to teach the two of you anything since we got here, but let's go over the details for this quest." Maximus paused and waited for them to listen. "Because they tend to hide in the forest for cover when hunting their prey, I will circle around the forest and chase them out of it. If they are susceptible to sensing danger that's beyond their capabilities, they will flee. Once you see one kill it quickly and try not to let it escape. With that said should you find yourself outmatched in any way, make a break for the town as fast as you can run. Is that understood?" He explained and the two of them nodded.

"Alright then, let's get to it." Maximus said.

"You can count on me." Aqua cheered with a smile.

"Yes, my first quest and it's going to be awesome! I wonder just how bad these 'Giant Toads' can really be, they can't be that bad." Kazuma said to himself with confidence.

The three of them marched out to the nearby forest and after they arrived Maximus began to circle it in order to chase any of the Giant Toads out.

"Alright, if I can just concentrate on focusing my aura to make my presence known to them, they will escape quickly." Maximus said to himself.

He started to focus his efforts as well as trying to seek out any prey they were after. His aura began to become slightly visible, like a mirage floating out of him and almost immediately the birds quickly flew away from his location. He waited a little longer to see if any sign of the toads would appear. The next moment he heard the loud echoing of a giant creature landing upon the ground.

"I hear you, what ever creature you are. Time to give chase and let the quest begin." Maximus said with a smirk on his face.

Both Kazuma and Aqua heard the sound of a heavy creature making its way to them. The rumble of every leap rippled into the valley they were waiting in. Kazuma was beginning to sweat and fear crept up his spine.

"Just how big are these toads anyway or did Maximus find some other giant creature instead." Kazuma wondered.

His knees were shaking uncontrollably and his nerves were getting out of control for him to handle.

Aqua seemed unfazed by the commotion that was transpiring before them. "Is he losing his nerve already, if that's the case; I cannot wait for him to see these things once they are out of the forest." She laughed to herself thinking of how he will react once he sees them.

The two had agreed on splitting up in order to not get caught together. The next moment a Giant Toad appeared out of the forest leaping into the air with all its might. The amphibian had a desperate gleam in its eye, experiencing fear as though for the first time.

Holy crap, that thing's huge!" Kazuma shouted in astonishment and began to fear for his life.

Kazuma began to panic and somehow managed to spin around and began to run away. The Giant Toad seemed to instantly switch from being fearful to wanting to chase after him. The animal was beginning to close the gap with the next leap and Kazuma almost lost his balance. Fortunately for him, he managed to quickly regain his posture and continued to run away just as Maximus had instructed prior.

Aqua stood a distance away from him bending over laughing uncontrollably at his near futile attempt to escape. "Kazuma, you should seriously see your face right now, it's totally red." She said and continued to laugh.

Kazuma turned to her direction and had an angry thought shoot through his mind. "If I get out of this alive, I'll kill her for this!"

Maximus approached Aqua wondering what she was doing and soon saw Kazuma some distance away. She instantly noticed him and turned to face him.

"Maximus, don't you think this is too funny watching him run away after all the times of him saying he wanted to be an adventurer?" She giggled out loud pointing at Kazuma.

"No, it's most certainly not funny at all." Maximus replied.

He continued to watch Kazuma for a few more moments and noticed he was doing nothing special in order to turn this around.

Maximus turned back to Aqua. "By the way, I've been thinking about something," He paused for a moment and Aqua looked up at him. "How come he doesn't have any one thing that would aid him on his journey?" He inquired.

"Oh, that's because I didn't give him anything to take with him for his journey." She answered after collecting herself from laughing.

"How come?" Maximus said feeling a little bad for Kazuma's predicament.

"He was taking too long to decide, so I just sent him on his way without anything for him to take." She briefly explained to him and turned towards Kazuma.

"Wait seriously," Maximus said and noticed she was ignoring the subject.

"Oh, Kazuma, if you really want me to save you, all you need to do is call me 'Lady Aqua'." She shouted to tease him.

"Save me Lady Aqua!" Kazuma shouted in desperation.

The next moment another toad jumped out of the forest and headed for the two of them.

"Huh, that was too easy." She said crossing her arms and wasn't acknowledging the other toad.

"I'll take this one." Maximus said and charged for it.

He quickly focused a small amount of his power and with lightning speed he appeared before the creature, burying his sword into its head. The two were amazed at what he just did.

"Maximus, that was amazing, you picked a good choice to be a swordsman." Aqua shouted out to him. "I will get you to like me more every day, I swear." She thought to herself.

The toad stopped chasing after Kazuma and turned to notice Aqua wasn't moving. She turned back towards Kazuma's direction.

"Kazuma, if you really want me to intervene calling me Lady Aqua is not all, once we get back into town you have to join the Axis Sect and worship me three times a day." She said.

The toad landed in front of her and quickly swallowed her whole before she could react. It lifted its head and she slowly slid down its throat.

Maximus had noticed what was going on and both he and Kazuma charged after the creature.

"Ugh, that idiot." Maximus grunted in anger.

With the same lightning speed, Maximus appeared before the toad, opened the mouth of the creature and with his sword impaled through the ceiling of its mouth. He quickly reached down towards Aqua. At the same moment he couldn't help but noticed her exposed buttocks and wondered why she didn't have any underwear on. He wrapped his arm around her waist and jumped out of the toad before it fell lifeless to the ground.

He gently lowered her down and saw her face having a depressed look on it. Her entire body was covered in the foul putrid stench of its thick saliva. She was on her knees crying and began to latch onto Maximus. He cringed from the smell of the toad's saliva as she hiked her hands up his chest.

"Thank you, Maximus, for saving me." She struggled to say.

"Your welcome," Maximus patted her on the crown of her head. "Next time, try to be more aware of what's going on." He said with a little concern and she took notice.

"He's actually caring for me, pretty soon he'll fall to his knees and worship me seriously instead of pretending." She said to herself.

"Look, it's clear that these things are way beyond the two of us, why don't we go back into town and call it a day while Maximus handles the rest." Kazuma said feeling overwhelmed.

The next moment Aqua shot up standing on her feet. "No, I can't go back, not like this!" She protested to Kazuma. "Besides, what will my followers think of me if they see me all covered in this stinky slime! How can my status as a Goddess be taken serious if people found out that I was bested by some lowly toad!" She explained.

Maximus and Kazuma both sighed and before they realize, Aqua was charging at another toad that was close by, roaring as she ran. "I got to make this up somehow so that I can show Maximus just how great I am." She said to herself.

"How dare you disgrace a Goddess in front of her followers! How dare you bear your fangs at us; how dare you challenge me! You shall know despair in the depths of Hell foul creature!" She shouted with anger in her voice.

The next moment a bright light ignited in her right fist that soon turned into a ball of fire.

"God Blow!" She said as the fiery light engulfed her right fist. "A devastating attack, one that carry's a Goddess fury and sorrow, whoever it strikes shall perish!" She proclaimed.

Whoa, look at her go!" Kazuma said with amazement.

Maximus stood there and wondered how it would turn out and remembered how the other toads bodies felt.

She threw her fist forward and slammed against the belly of the toad. The ripples of the blow instantly dispersed the moment she struck her foe. She stood there frozen for a moment and innocently looked up lightly giggled.

"You know, up close you're actually kind of cute." She said with a small smile forming.

Kazuma gasped from the after effect seeing that nothing happened.

"I had a feeling that a blubbery feel such as that creature's body would not be so easily harmed by any blunt object." Maximus said out loud and Kazuma turned to face him.

The next moment the toad quickly bent down and swallowed her whole.

"Oh no, Aqua!" Maximus shouted and charged after the creature.

After he freed her from the toad and slayed the creature, she broke down even more than earlier and proceeded to thank Maximus graciously once more.

"You are starting to have a knack at getting yourself into trouble today." Maximus said looking down upon her feeling sorry. "You two wait here while I go get the handcart to put these amphibians on to sell back in town. It doesn't look like anymore are coming out right now." He instructed them.

After gathering the three toads together the other two joined him and they began to return to town. The three of them were silent not even a peep was coming out of them. Maximus noticed that Aqua was hunched over feeling depressed.

"You know, if you want, you can wash up by the river before we get to town. That way you won't feel embarrassed when we arrive." He said to her.

"What, out in the open with the two of you staring at me, I don't think so!" She snapped at him with her hand pointing out at him and a stream of slime almost hit Kazuma.

Kazuma was unfazed by the slime and kept pace with a pervy thought entering in his mind. He couldn't help but wondered what her measurements were and how she would look without any clothing on. He began to daydream for a moment of the two being alone in the river. "Wait, why would I want that, she's such a pain." He said to himself.

"Oh, so you don't mind that your supposed followers will be okay with finding out you were bested by a toad and were covered in some thick icky substance?" Maximus said with a smirk on his face.

She looked back at him with an angry look in her eye and turned back walking forward. "Hmph."

"Alright, I was only suggesting that since you made such a big fuss about it after the first time you were swallowed whole. Not that it would matter anyway since no one would believe you are a Goddess to begin with." Maximus said.

The three of them returned to town and Aqua stopped by the bath house to wash up while Kazuma and Maximus proceeded to the merchants square to sell the meat. They both headed to the bath house in order to wash up before the night was over. The three wounded back at the guild for a supper.

"Oh, Maximus, I see that you have returned from your quest, did you finish it all in one day?" Luna inquired still feeling a little shy towards him.

"Not quite, we unfortunately only found three in the forest on the northeast side of town. I was wondering about the quest my party and I are on," Maximus paused for a moment.

"Oh, what do you want to know?" She inquired.

"Are five toads really enough to cull their population during their mating season?" He asked.

"Well no, to effectively quell their numbers it would be preferable to eliminate at least fifteen of them in total. Unfortunately, not enough adventurers go on kill quest like these and so, we are left with the very inexperienced to try to handle these matters. Also, it's preferable to allow higher level adventurers to these matters, but as I mentioned before no one wants to." Luna explained.

Maximus sighed feeling frustrated because of the lack of enthusiasm the adventurers have. "To think with so many of them being of higher level they would just rather sit around and do nothing. Why would they do this at all? Surely there's an explanation for this, but there's no point in wondering what it could be." He thought to himself.

"But we do appreciate your willingness all the same. Sorry that I said something to upset you." Luna said feeling as though she had said something to upset him.

Maximus turned his gaze back to her. "Oh, don't worry, you could never say anything that would upset me so easily." He began to reach into his pocket and pulled out some money. "By the by, here is the rest of the registration I said I would make up to you." He placed the money in her hand and she was surprised.

"Oh, you didn't have to pay the rest so soon, what about your situation." She said.

"Go on and take it, I overheard some of the higher ups saying they were talking about disciplining you for allowing the three of us to register at half off. So, I gave them a stern talking to, told them not to bother you, and promised I would pay the rest up front and here you go." He said with a smile. "Also, I must ask your pardon for putting your job on the line like that, I apologize for doing such a thing. It's not my place to act so disrespectful for others livelihood, but I did it for the young kid. He wanted to become an adventurer so badly you could see it in his eyes." He explained.

"Oh, well, thank you so much for that. I will take you up on that offer of making it up to me one day." She said winking at him with a smile and a glitter of light in her eyes.

The two waved goodbye and Maximus returned to his party members. Aqua had an annoyed look on her face as she was boiling with jealousy.

"The nerve of that heavy chested harpy, trying to steal my Maximus away from me. If she thinks she has the upper hand in this game, she has another thing coming." She declared to herself.

She stopped for a moment and remembered her ultimate goal while thinking about him. "Maximus is so gorgeous he might as well be perfection itself. Those bulky yet lean muscles, his beautiful golden hair upon his head, the strength that well surpasses one-hundred men, and those mysterious purple eyes. Not to mention his tall stature, he will be the perfect candidate in order to achieve my newfound goal."

She began to laugh a little as she continued. "Forget the Demon King, I will have him help me bring the 'True Child of Light' into this world and all will worship me once my child has defeated the Demon King. With Maximus' strength and my beautiful looks and charm, he will be glorious!" She shouted in her head with excitement.

"Uh, Aqua, what are you doing?" Kazuma asked looking at her with a confused look on his face that was moving to being embarrassed.

"I agree with Kazuma in wondering why you are standing on the bench and table in that pose?" Maximus inquired.

Aqua was so involved with her thoughts she hadn't realized she had her right foot on the bench and her left foot on the table. Her right hand was above her heart and left arm was stretched behind her at a forty-five-degree angle. Her face had a satisfying smile that quickly melted into an embarrassed look.

"Uh, nothing." She said instantly sat down and began to stuff her face with the toad meat they had ordered.

"What a dork you are. Now I'm getting embarrassed just sitting here." Kazuma said looking around wondering if anyone saw her act.

"Despite all her helplessness and silly behavior, she has a certain charm about her. She's just quite a bit unrefined and immature for someone who calls herself a Goddess. But maybe there's potential for growth." Maximus paused from his thought and soon began to think further. "Wait, did I just catch myself at the beginning of starting down a path to liking her. No way, I mean, she has great looks, a fine body, but her personality is that of a child or an adolescent teenager. Why would I even begin to fall for someone like her?" He wondered to himself.

Both Kazuma and Aqua began to discuss about the food they were eating and how much a delicacy it was in the area.

Maximus continued his thought process. "Could it be her helpless nature is causing this to happen. I mean, I can't help but feel as though she needs a lot of oversight but can that really be enough to have someone be drawn towards another. I have heard about other relationships starting because both parties were complete opposites to each other. Not to mention they both have something the other lacks. But what does she have that I don't?"

"By the way, I've been thinking that we should look into recruiting some more party members. What do you two say to that?" She inquired of them.

"It would help in some ways, but I feel as though we probably won't need it with Maximus in our party. Although, it would be nice to have one or more balanced members on the team, unlike you." Kazuma said.

Aqua stood up slamming her hands on the table in anger. "What is that supposed to mean, I am a valuable member of this party and capable,"

"You're a useless Goddess who got eaten by two different toads in one day." Kazuma snapped back at her.

"Uh, you weren't supposed to say anything. You two did swear to me you would keep that to yourselves." She said feeling worried someone might have overheard them. She turned to look behind her and saw no one within earshot. "Maximus, you don't think I'm useless like Kazuma does." She asked him with her eyes on the verge of crying and her face puffing up from the sad expression.

"I don't think you are totally useless," Maximus responded and paused for a moment. "Besides, you were able to be good bait for me to kill those toads." Maximus said without thinking it through.

"There you see, Maximus knows that I have… some… value…" She paused for a moment and let his words ring through her mind.

Kazuma couldn't hold back the laughter that was boiling to the surface and began to laugh uncontrollably.

Aqua quickly grabbed hold of Maximus' coat and began to complain about what he said. "What do you mean by that, were you using me as bait the whole time? Is that what you truly think of me, just bait for our kill quest." She continued to cry loudly with tears flowing out of her like waterfalls that never ends.

Maximus finally placed his hand over her mouth to get her attention and from making more ruckus. "Look, that's not what I meant, I don't think you are totally useless. If that were the case, you'd be unable to sustain yourself no matter what situation you find yourself in." He said.

He released her from his grasp and she stopped her whining.

"Besides, I'd say your more helpless than useless." Maximus finished his thought.

"That's pretty much the same buddy." Kazuma said to himself. "As far as the idea of adding another party member, who's even going to join up with a couple of losers like us, not counting Maximus of course?" He inquired.

"Heh, just leave it to me." Aqua said with renewed determination. "Just you wait Maximus, I'll get us a party member that is excellent for us. Someone who will balance the party out and when I do you will see just how great I am and will give me more attention. I'll overlook your opinion of me and make you change the way you see me." She said to herself.

Maximus found himself thinking about Aqua once more and noticed her determined smile on her face.

"No, don't think too much into this at all concerning her and what she may possess that I don't. I need to defeat the Demon King and wish myself back home the moment after I was taken by Aqua. From there I can get back to protecting my world from the last four Demon Lords." Maximus said to himself.

Later that night Maximus spread a blanket on top of the haystack within the stables they were unfortunately still staying in. Aqua gleefully jumped on it and was excited like a child getting a new toy. She pulled another smaller blanket over her and saw Maximus was once again sitting against the wall. She felt annoyed that he would choose to sit on the uncomfortable stone floor. At the same time, she felt admiration towards him for doing such a thing and not force himself to sleep in the same spot as her.

"Maximus," She said to get his attention and he looked up toward her. "Would you kindly lie with me; I'm feeling a little cold here." She said with a welcoming gesture. "This is it; this will begin to have him be with me more." She thought to herself.

"Aren't you warm enough with those blankets?" He inquired feeling a little annoyed.

"Yes, but I will feel much more comfortable if you are lying next to me." She replied.

Maximus sighed in frustration and laid on his back next to, but not against, her.

"Now get some sleep, we've got to finish our quest and find a new party member on the morrow." He ordered her and went to sleep.

Kazuma was peaking around the corner and felt a little jealous of Maximus but then shook the thought out of his head. "Wait, I should not be jealous of him because she is so annoying and yet so hot." Kazuma crept back into his stall and began to sleep the night away.


	5. Chapter 5

**The First Quest Part Two and a New Party Member:**

The next morning Kazuma awoke to the sound of Maximus shouting outside the stables.

"God Blow!" He shouted summoning all his aura into his hand.

The next moment Maximus struck another toad across its jaw that happened to wander close to the farm. The strike was immediately followed by a loud soundwave that echoed across the whole valley. The sound of it gave off the same as an explosion, cracking the air around him. The force of the blow sent the amphibian rolling back across the field. Once it stopped the creature laid there lifeless with no sign of movement. Kazuma rushed outside to see Aqua cheering Maximus and gleefully ran up to his side.

"That was wonderful, you seem to have a knack at this." She said feeling excited.

"How did he get that tub of lard to fly away like that when she wasn't able to yesterday?" Kazuma asked himself, feeling stunned by the results.

Maximus was rubbing his right wrist when he noticed Kazuma peaking around the stables with a stunned face. He had the look of disbelief with his jaw opened and a sense of fear was within his eyes.

"Hey, Kazuma, want to get an early start for today?" Maximus waved to him with a smile.

"By the way, how were you able to make that toad fly backwards like that?" Aqua inquired feeling a little jealous and mostly amazed.

"It's simple, for a big creature such as that one, you have to hit them where there is the least amount of resistance." Maximus answered.

Aqua stood there with a dumbfounded look on her face and wondered what he meant. Maximus quickly took notice of her confusion and began to explain further.

"Yesterday when you used that ability, you struck the area where there was too much of its body to absorb the blow. However, its head has less fat and is likely to offer up little to no resistance. Although the blow didn't work effectively as I had hoped, but still, not bad for my first try." He said.

"Yes, as your first skill you learned from me, I am proud you were able to use it with such ease." Aqua said and began to giggle a little while looking at him with a big smile. He chuckled a little and the two gave each other a thumbs up.

"If you were teaching him his first skill then why not have me get taught that as well?" Kazuma asked approaching the two and felt annoyed she didn't teach him.

"That is because you are not worthy of that skill as you are just a lowly human boy who spent his time shutting himself off from the world." Aqua shot back at him.

"Useless dork of a Goddess." Kazuma said under his breath.

"Anyway, let's take that big guy in, get a reward, sell it to whoever will buy it, and see about getting another party member." Maximus said.

"So, how are we going to choose our new member, do you honestly think anyone is just going to sign up with newbie adventurers like us?" Kazuma inquired.

"I think once they find out I am in the party; they will be begging to join us no problem." Aqua said with a cheerful tone.

"Yeah right, like anybody would be willing enough to join solely because of you." Kazuma said to himself.

"Besides, I have already taken care of getting the flyer ready to be hung up on the wall in the Guild Hall." She said pulling out a large parchment she had made.

"When did she have time to write that up, I don't remember her doing anything when I woke up. Then again she may have gotten up before me." Maximus wondered to himself.

The three of them lifted the large toad onto the handcart and walked into town. Maximus was able to sell the meat for a decent price once more and split it between them. On the way to the Guild Aqua noticed a staff at the weapon shop that was pleasing to her. The body of it was plain metal and on the top was a flower that was closed up. They continued on from there until they got to the Guild.

Once inside they sat on the bench which was positioned across the quest board. Maximus noticed not a single person had paid it any mind, in fact no one even bothered to look at the board in general. He soon excused himself and walked up to the bar for a drink. Before he began to take a drink, Luna had approached him from behind after noticing him.

"Maximus, it's good to see you again." She said feeling shy and a little nervous.

He turned around and saw her walking up to him. "Huh, oh, Luna. Hello and good day to you. How are you this lovely morning so far?" He inquired.

"I-I-I'm doing very well today, thank you." She responded with a little stutter. "Ok, get it together Luna, it's just a simple question, I'm sure there is nothing to be afraid of." She said to herself working up the courage to ask him a question.

Maximus took a sip from his drink and sat there feeling the day going to waste. "Oh man, what a lousy start this is so far. Not a single soul even once glanced at the flyer. Then again after seeing what it said earlier there's no wonder no one will even bother with it." Both Kazuma and Maximus had thought of the same thing.

"Uh, Maximus, I was wondering if you would like to go on an outing with me sometime." Luna inquired of him with a little struggle to get it all out.

Maximus turned to face her once more and noticed she was looking down and twiddling her thumbs.

She continued to talk. "If you don't, that's fine since you and Aqua seem to be close,"

The next moment he placed his right hand under her chin and gently lifted her head up to look him in the eye. She was unsure of what to do and found herself mesmerized by his warm and welcoming gaze. His face had a little smile forming and he leaned closer to her. She thought at first, he was moving in for a kiss but quickly noticed he hadn't leaned too close to her. It was only a little, yet enough to get her attention.

"Looks like you beat me to the punch," He said and paused for a moment to remove his hand from her chin to her shoulder. "Besides, I was going to inquire about such an outing after the Kill Quest was over." He finished.

Luna's face began to form a large smile and the light in her eyes lit up even more than before. She raised her hands and press them together out in front.

"I'll look forward to that, when your Kill Quest is over stop by the desk and we can discuss it further." She said feeling excited.

"Well, until that time I will bid you adieu." He said releasing her shoulder gently and turned to his party members. "I better get back with those two and see about finishing this quest."

After he finished, he gave her a wink and a thumbs up. She responded with a wave and a smile and proceeded back to her duties with a new sense of confidence. Both Aqua and Kazuma approached him before he could make his way to them. Maximus quickly noticed they were standing before him with defeated looks wearing on their faces. Neither of them could look up at him after such a bad turn out.

"I take it by the looks on your faces we didn't even recruit anyone just now." Maximus said after seeing the obvious. He sighed and proceeded to take another sip of his drink. "Well that's rather annoying, I was hoping that going away from the board would have resulted in someone approaching me to inquire about the opening in our party. Rather than sitting in front of it like some desperate fool."

Meanwhile a young girl was standing before the board reading an announcement that was catching her eye. She turned to her left and noticed all three of them before the bar.

"Maybe you shouldn't have put it in the way that you did, saying that only high-class adventurers need apply is a little too much. You should really think about lowering your standards a lot." Kazuma said to Aqua.

"I know. But I thought it would've been a good idea." She said feeling depressed for a moment and quickly latched at Kazuma. Her hands grabbing fistful of his track suit. "Well, if you weren't so weak, we wouldn't have to ask for someone else to join our party. You're really holding us back you shut-in-neet." She shouted in anger rocking him back and forth.

Kazuma placed his hand against her face in order to push her off of him.

"Oh, I'm the one holding our party back, well what about you? Yesterday you were completely useless as you did nothing to aid us." Kazuma fired back.

"That's completely not true, I did do something even if it was a poor attempt." She quickly countered.

The two of them began to bicker among themselves making too much of a scene.

Maximus was confused about her, not sure what to make of her personality. "One second she has an annoying Damsel-in-Distress attitude and the next a raging mad woman. All the while claiming to be a Goddess." He said to himself and sighed. "And now they are putting on a display that is sure to showcase why anyone with a logical brain would steer clear from this party. It was a mistake to waste our time with this venture and just finish up the quest today." He finished his thought.

The next moment Maximus quickly downed his beverage and placed the mug on the bar loudly to get their attention. The two of them stopped sensing his annoyance and wondered what he was going to do. "Oh well, it looks as though no one is going to join, so why don't we finish,"

"Excuse me." The young girl said standing before them.

Both Kazuma and Aqua turned around and all three waited for her to continue.

"I was wondering, are you three still looking for new party members?" She inquired.

Kazuma quickly replied to her. "Uh, yeah, we are, although I don't really recommend it,"

"What's your name young girl?" Maximus inquired of her interrupting Kazuma.

"My name is Megumin." She responded.

Silence quickly followed and everyone stood there as the others waited for her to continue. Maximus was wondering if she was shy and approached her.

"Is that all?" He inquired.

"Yeah, I thought you were going to continue with everything else about you." Kazuma said.

"He only asked for my name." She quickly replied and turned back at Maximus.

"Ok, so, what else do you want to inform us about yourself before we ultimately decide if we want to take you in." Maximus said feeling annoyed. "You know, if you were inquiring about the party slot, you should include everything about yourself right off the bat instead of wasting our time." He said to himself.

"Hang on, your eye is red, are you a Crimson Demon?" Aqua inquired.

"Demon, I wonder if this world's demons are similar to my ancestors? Though it's hard to say right off the bat." Maximus said to himself after hearing she was a demon.

"Yes, I am of the Crimson Demon Clan, Wielder of the most powerful spell; Explosion." She proclaimed to them.

"By the way what's with that patch on your eye? If you need my friend can heal you." Kazuma said feeling a little concerned about her well-being.

"There is nothing wrong with my eye, I wear this as a way to contain my power. If I were to remove it, the entire area will quake and crumble to the ground. I am that powerful." She proclaimed.

"Whoa!" Kazuma said with excitement.

"I don't sense anything special or overwhelming emanating from her, nor do I sense any powerful magic from that patch to seal her so called powers away. She's just bluffing, but I will let her have this sense of false pride." Maximus said to himself.

Maximus stood up from the bar stool and walked up to her. "Well, what say you to slaying a bunch of toads before the day is done." He inquired of her.

Megumin took in his tall frame and she began to quake a little and at the same time trying not to show it.

"Sure, I'd be…up to…the task." She started to feel dizzy and fell to the floor.

Uh, are you alright?" Both Kazuma and Aqua inquired.

The next moment the three of them heard her stomach growl loudly. The noise echoed throughout the entire Guild and she could barely lift her head.

"No, I haven't eaten in three whole days." Megumin struggled to say and her stomach growled once more.

Kazuma helped pick her up and set her down in front of the nearby table. "Here, let me help you."

"Hey, waitress, I need a round of the special and make it quick!" Maximus shouted with his hand raised to get her attention and she quickly acknowledged.

Minutes later Megumin was digging into the food that was brought to her without hesitation. Maximus and the others began to inspect the adventurers card she had shown them.

"I have to say, despite her age and level, this card is the real deal." Aqua said.

"How so?" Both Maximus and Kazuma inquired at the same time.

"Well for starters, an adventurers card cannot be forged in any way to deceive people." She informed them.

"I see," Maximus said taking the card in hand to look at it closer. "It's impressive you are at such an advanced class when you are such a low level. Are all crimson demons capable of such feats?" He inquired of her.

"Yes, since we are demons, we have a high potential to start off in advanced classes." She stopped to briefly inform him and began eating again.

Maximus placed his right hand on his chin. "Strange, she claims to be a demon, yet I do not see anything demonic about her. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that she is in her human form. However, I don't sense anything that would give off any indication that she is a demon." He paused his thinking for a moment.

"Well, I must say we would be foolish to not accept her into our party. I vote we take her in. What say you two on the matter?" Aqua asked both Kazuma and Maximus.

"I know on my world my ancestors are descendants of the Dragon of Destruction: Malfeld who was regarded as the first demon. Maybe each world has a different bases to be called a demon." His finished his thought.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt us to have someone like you on our team, why not." Kazuma said and they all turned to Maximus.

"Sure, I'm okay with that." He added. "Plus, I might ask more about the demons of this world to see how different between my world's and theirs." He thought to himself.

The four of them headed out to the same valley as before and once there Megumin agreed not to fire her attack until they could bundle a large group in order to finish the quest quickly. Maximus quickly traveled to the other side once more and began to do the same thing as before only allowing a larger amount of his demonic aura to radiate throughout the forest. The result was far more than he had anticipated.

The others saw a mass exodus from many creatures of the forest fleeing in terror. Both Megumin and Aqua could sense something terrible heading their way. Shortly after nine more Giant Toads jumped out of the forest with the same desperate look of fear in their eyes as the last ones the day before. All of the toads were gathered together and Megumin quickly began to shout her incantation to launch her attack.

Both Kazuma and Aqua were amazed at the power that was produced and all the toads before them seemed to stand still, petrified in some way.

"Explosion!" She shouted with her staff pointed at the group of toads.

Maximus had just exited the forest when he saw the streams of magical aura flowing around the toads. The moment after a ray of orange-red light shot down from a ball of fire floating from on high. Once it struck the targets a massive explosion in sued and engulfed them entirely. The shock wave rippled the entire area, quaking the ground violently.

"Whoa, that was impressive, far more than I first had thought." Maximus said to himself with amazement wearing upon his face.

"Alright, you got them all, now that's what I call serious magic!" Kazuma said feeling surprised.

The next moment another toad had jumped toward them.

"Oh crap, looks like we may have attracted another one, Megumin you might want to," Kazuma stopped after he saw her laying face flat on the ground, as if passed out. "What are you doing, we got another one heading this way."

"What is she doing, why isn't she getting up?" Aqua said with a little concern and Maximus had thought the same.

"I forgot to mention, I can only use Explosion Magic once a day. When I do, my body goes numb or I pass out falling flat on my face." She informed them.

"Huh." Kazuma said not sure of what to make of this situation. "Ugh, never mind." He quickly said and turned to Aqua. "Alright Aqua, it looks like we could use your 'You Know What Powers' right about now. Come on, show us all how incredible you used to be."

"Oh, shut up, I'm still Goddess, there is no 'used to be' about it." She snapped at him with anger in her voice.

"Huh, what was that you said Aqua?" Megumin inquired after only hearing some parts of what Kazuma said.

Kazuma was disappointed in himself for telling the truth about Aqua. "Duh, never mind that, just,"

The next moment another Giant Toad surfaced from the ground near Megumin.

"Holy crap, where did that one come from, man they are sneaky." Kazuma said with a little fear.

Before he could say anything Aqua shouted as she charged after the furthest one.

"I will show you the power of the Gods Kazuma, God Requiem!" She shouted and her staff's flower opened up overflowing with her aura. "A most devastating attack that carries a Goddess' love and sorrow, whosoever it strikes shall,"

Before she could strike the creature, Aqua was swallowed whole once more. The toad lifted its head to sink her down into its stomach.

"Oh, come on!" Kazuma shouted with annoyance and anger.

Megumin could hear the quaking sound of the approaching toad. "Uh oh, it looks as though we are in quite the predicament. It's a shame Maximus isn't here to help us since he is probably still in the forest. I'm sorry could you,"

Before he could take a step to aid and before she could finish, Megumin was swallowed whole as well.

Maximus quickly summoned his demonic aura into his hand and touched the toad in passing. "Kazuma, quickly aid Megumin while I save Aqua!" He instructed.

"How am I supposed to do that." He inquired.

The next instant Maximus sprinted past him at lightning speeds and when they were side by side, he informed him of a crucial detail. "I used my powers to petrify the toad temporarily, now go." His said in that moment.

Kazuma looked behind him and saw Maximus was already before the other toad.

"I do hope he is right about this." Kazuma turned around. "Hang on Megumin." He shouted and ran to her rescue.

Both Maximus and Kazuma struck the creatures down the length of their belly's to free the girls from their captors. The two of them graciously thanked them for coming to their rescue. Maximus and Aqua prepared the handcart with the haul and the whole party began to head back into town.

Kazuma had Megumin piggyback on him and Aqua still was depressed about getting swallowed twice in two days. She, in her mind, could see that Maximus was extremely disappointed in her. He looked down at her with disgust as a horrible thought brewed ever more. The thought of him leaving her behind because of how pathetic her performance had been.

Maximus was at the end of them with the cart rolling behind him, wondering to himself. "I can't believe such a spell would be so potent it would cause the caster to collapse. After seeing it being used, I was going to inquire her about it however, seeing the results I'm not so sure about that now."

The next moment he turned up after hearing both Kazuma and Megumin talking to each other.

"Alright, from now on you're banned from using that spell ever again. Unless it's for emergencies only, other than that stick to less apocalyptic spells." Kazuma told her.

"No, I can't, I mustn't, Explosion is the only spell for me. All of the other spells in the same family pales in comparison!" She proclaimed feeling disgusted at the mere thought of casting any other spell but that one.

"Wait," Maximus said and the others stopped to turn his direction. "Shouldn't you have been able to,"

"You are able to use other spells can't you, I mean I had to learn all of the party tricks before advancing to the higher-level ones. That is what you were going to say right Maximus." Aqua interrupted with her gaze looking up at him.

"Well yeah, but I only want to cast that spell." Megumin informed them.

"So, basically she is going to be useless from here on out. Great it looks as though we're going to have another Aqua in this group." Kazuma said to himself and they all began to walk on. The next moment he had a thought to let her go. "Well, it was fun and all but I think we can part ways from here. We'll split the reward and you can be on your way to casting Explosion magic all you want in some other party."

"Hold it Kazuma," Maximus quickly spoke out. "I hate to break it to you, but we did allow her to join the party. I would dare say it will reflect poorly on us if we were to let her go the same day she joined up." Maximus said feeling annoyed at the situation.

"Huh?" Kazuma said feeling betrayed with a confused look on his face. "How could he of all people want her to stay in this group?" He said to himself.

Maximus had an unsettling feeling come over him when he saw three young women walked by them. They had noticed both Aqua and Megumin had thick slime all over them and began to discuss among themselves about what they had done to the two.

"I would dare say, and I cannot believe the words are escaping my mouth, we better keep her in our party. The last thing we need is to have rumors spread that could ruin our reputation. Besides, her magic does sound like it's well worth to learn." Maximus said feeling annoyed.

"What?! No, we can't no matter the cost! How are we going to be an effective party if two of our members are completely useless! One useless person is enough and now you want to add another one! We're leaving her at the Guild and that's final!" Kazuma protested.

"Look there, that young man is going to leave that poor girl all alone." One of the three young ladies said out loud.

"Also, is that Maximus, the man who defeated the Manticore?" Another asked.

"Is he really going to allow that poor girl to be dumped by the young man after being defiled with that slime?" The third one asked.

"Isn't that their Arch-Priest, what horrible acts did those two made those young girls endure?" The previous one asked.

"What shamefulness will they go through next?" The first one wondered.

"Oh no they didn't just blurt that out of their mouths. No way am I going to suffer a loss to my reputation." Maximus said to himself with anger mounting. "Kazuma, you completely disappoint me, I gave you a simple task and you decide to blow it!" Maximus quickly shouted.

The three young women began to listen more intently.

"To think you would allow these two to be defile in such a manner as to please your own perverted ways before helping them out is despicable to the highest degree! Were I not such a gentleman, I would throw you out of my party the double quick." He said with his arms folded with a disappointed expression on his face.

"Oh, Maximus, I'm so glad you arrived in time to save me from his perversions!" Aqua quickly chimed in out of nowhere that surprised Maximus. "If you hadn't shown up when you did who knows what horrible acts he would have done upon us." Aqua said grabbing onto Maximus' coat crying.

The three young ladies began to have a different opinion of Maximus after hearing Aqua. Megumin had saw and heard them and decided to embarrass Kazuma in order for him to allow her to stay with the party in a unanimous decision. "Oh yes it was so horrible,"

"You too?!" Kazuma said.

"If only you had arrived just a little later, I would have enjoyed whatever perverted games you wanted me to play." Megumin said with a devilish smile.

"O-o-ok fine, just shut up!" Kazuma shouted in panic.

After the excitement died down both Aqua and Megumin went to wash up as Maximus and Kazuma went to the Guild to pick up their reward. The two of them stopped after crossing the threshold and sighed in unison.

"I'm not going to forgive you for what you did earlier." Kazuma said to Maximus with a despising tone.

"Well, you should have helped me convince them to wash up before arriving back into town. Maybe then we wouldn't have to go through such a thing." Maximus snapped back.

"Yeah, but now my reputation is going to be shattered if not already." He complained.

"Forget about it for now, we can discuss it another time." Maximus began to make his way to the desk. "I'll pick up the reward, you go and have a seat over there and wait for me." He pointed at the nearest table.

After informing and waiting a bit Luna arrived at the desk with a tray of money for him.

"Alright, I've confirmed your completion of your party's quest. I will say we are very surprised you were able to slay fifteen of those toads in all. Now with five thousand per creature plus the bounty for selling use the meat and a special bonus, your total amounts to two hundred-thousand Eris. Does that amount seem fair to you?" Luna informed him with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, that sounds perfect." He responded placing the money into a pouch and then in his inner coat pocket.

"Now, about that outing you agreed to go on with me?" Luna said with a sudden seductive tone.

Maximus looked up to catch her hand gliding across her clavicle and her head slightly turned to the side. Her smile was inviting as if to tease him. He leaned forward a little and rested his arm on the desk with his gaze fixed on her face.

"I believe he has taken the bait just like the other girls had instructed." Luna said to herself, remembering her discussion with some of the other waitress' who work at the Guild.

"So, how should we plan this little outing between the two of us? Since I'm new to town I am not sure what all is there to do outside of adventuring, then again there is always the market to try out the food there. What say you on the matter?" He inquired of her.

Meanwhile a young woman was looking at the flyer posted on the board and turned to her right noticing Maximus was at the desk. She took a deep breath and began to head over to him.

As she approached Luna was beginning to discuss the details of the outing the two were planning. "Well, we could go to the Marketplace to try out some of their foods and see about sitting under a tree somewhere to get to know one another."

"Excuse me," The young woman said to get Maximus' attention.

He turned around and noticed her standing there.

"Oh, were you standing there long, I'm sorry was there something I could help with?" Luna inquired. "That's odd, I don't remember her taking any quest today. Could she be attempting to reel him away?" Luna thought to herself.

"I was wanting to inquire about the position that you have open. My name is Darkness and my class is Crusader." She paused for a moment feeling overwhelmed with excitement caused by the potential rejection and acceptance.

"Oh wow, to have a Crusader in your party would be very beneficial for you." Luna informed Maximus.

"So, I wish to ask you, will you allow me to join your p-p-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-party please!" She blurted out nervously.

"She seems to be shy about asking to join or am I reading this wrong?" Maximus wondered to himself. "Well, we haven't really discussed how many members we were going to have. That being said, I see no reason why I shouldn't,"

"So, you're rejecting me?!" Darkness quickly shouted with an uncomfortable joy in her voice.

Maximus was confused as to what was going on. "Wait, what? That's not what I was going to say,"

"That was so fast for you to come to such a decision and so cruel. And at the same time, I can't help but feel overwhelming joy over this!" Darkness continued to shout.

Maximus was becoming more uncomfortable with her behavior and turned to Luna.

"Say, why don't you and I pick this conversation up another time if you don't mind because I just remembered I have to watch the farmers livestock tonight." He said to Luna with a sense of urgency. "And Darkness was it, how's about you and me take a rain check on the position tomorrow when you meet the rest of the party and we can discuss this further. Okay, bye." He said with a false smile and patted her shoulder.

"Oh, okay." Both Luna and Darkness said at the same time feeling a little confused.

"That was really weird for some reason that I can't put my finger on it yet, but I should just get away fast." Maximus said heading towards Kazuma.

Maximus quickly grabbed Kazuma and began to head back to the stables for the night.


	6. Chapter 6

**New Skills:**

"Maximus,"

Maximus found himself waking up to Aqua having a surprising sultry voice calling out to him. His eyes opened to her mounting his waist with an excited smile and her cheeks upon her face red like a rose. She was pulling the straps on her pajama shirt around her shoulders and began to lower it a little in an effort to tease him.

"It is time for us to bring a worthy 'Hero' to this world." She finished and paused for a moment to lean down towards his face. "Will you do this for the people, for the world, and most importantly above all others, me." Her voice seemed to echo in his ear despite her still being in front of him. Aqua began to pull down on her shirt more, exposing herself further and leaned forward to kiss him.

The next moment Maximus awoke abruptly, moving himself to sit up with all haste. Before he began to move, he felt a warm presence laying against his side. He turned and noticed Aqua wrapped up against him in her new pajamas with her leg cradling his. Her mouth was wide open and drool had seeped out and into his clothing. Her mouth had a semi-smile as though she was enjoying a dream. Her top had slid down to the side exposing a good portion of her chest.

"Please tell me that was just a dream and that it did not happened." He said to himself with fear mounting by the second after discovering her next to him.

He began to slowly sit up as to not bother her slumber. After rising fully her arms were still latching onto his left arm resisting to let go of him. He inspected the two of them and noticed their clothing hadn't been tampered with at all.

Maximus sighed heavily. "Thank goodness it was only just a dream, yet it felt so real. I guess it's true about dreams almost appearing real." He said with a smile forming. He turned to look down at Aqua still latching onto him, not fazed by his earlier movements. "I had thought she would eventually do something like this. I was also wondering why it was so warm." He said to himself with an annoying tone in his head. He kept his eyes on her a little more. "She wouldn't be so bad off if it wasn't for her stupidity overall. The way she is now, it's almost childlike. Is this part of her charm or am I just…"?

The next moment she was starting to awake from her sleep and noticed him sitting up looking down upon her.

"Oh, you're awake," She paused for a moment to yawn and began to stretch her arms out.

Maximus got up from the haystack.

"Uh, hey, where are you going?" She inquired.

He put his coat on and began to walk out of the stable.

"I'm going into town and see about quests and maybe seek out someone who has more skills for me to learn. Unless you have some others, you are holding out on me." He said to her with a stern tone.

"Yeah, but I'm not going to give them to you for free." She said standing up and stretched some more. "You have to do something for me for every skill you want to learn." She said. She had leaned over with her left hand on her hip and right hand in the air pointing her index finger up and a childish grin forming.

"Alright, I'll just go find someone else to learn skills from." Maximus began to turn the corner and Aqua quickly latched onto him.

"Wait, wait, why won't you at least do something else for me instead of falsely praying to me three times a day!" She began to cry with tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Why is she so emotional about this kind of thing?" He wondered to himself.

The next moment a loud knock was echoing from the wall. "Hey, shut up in there or I'll bash your heads in!" A man shouted from the next stall over with anger in his voice.

"Wait here for a moment." Maximus said with annoyance and proceeded to the other stall.

She stood there with her head tilted to the side a little wondering what he was going to do.

"You want run that by me again little man." He stood at the opening of the other stall with a fierce gaze and the man quickly recognized him.

"Uh, s-s-s-sorry Maximus, I won't bother you again." The man said feeling scared after seeing the look on Maximus' face and knowing the reputation about his exploit with the Manticore.

"Thought so, little mongrel." Maximus said to himself.

He returned to Aqua and began their conversation again. "Now then, as I was going to say, I do enough for you as it is. I allow you to sleep next to me, although you took it too far last night by wrapping yourself upon me. Not to mention I saved you from being digested from two frogs. I believe it's time to pay up." He said pointing his right index finger at her.

"Hmmm, okay, fine." She said feeling annoyed and a mere moment of horror shivered down her spine after remembering being swallowed by the toads.

She began to undress and change clothing in front of him and he quickly turned around to look away.

"I wonder if I should see if Kazuma would want to learn some skills. He should have some skill points to spend in order to learn something." He thought to himself.

"I'm still surprised he hasn't made a questionable move on me in a way to dishonor himself. I guess he really is quite the gentleman." She said turning her head to notice his back to her. "Even when I'm changing and completely exposed, he never once looks at me during this time. Not to mention he makes sure no one is watching me." She slightly grinned feeling impressed.

The next moment the two of them heard ruffling in the stall where Kazuma slept and was followed by an odd groaning sound. Maximus had the thought of checking on him but quickly dismissed the idea after hearing heavy breathing.

"Alright, I'm ready to help you learn some new skills." She said with a sense of excitement and annoyance mixed in her voice.

"Let's do this elsewhere, away from the farm." Maximus suggested, his gaze was still towards Kazuma's stall.

"Huh, why not here, and shouldn't we ask if Kazuma would like to join in?" She inquired of him wondering why he would leave out a party member.

"It sounds as though he is not feeling well today, so we'll just leave him be for now. Besides, didn't you say to him yesterday that he was unworthy in your eyes to learn any spells you have already learned?" He said trying to avoid going over to Kazuma and began to walk away.

"Uh, okay, I guess." She said and quickly caught up with him.

The two walked toward town and once at the Guild each of them looked at their cards and he wondered how to cash points in for skills and spells. Before she could instruct him, the Mohawk man approached them to tell him how to do it. He thought the simplicity of learning things in this world were very different from his.

"I guess this world's magic system is far easier than in mine. Usually you have to know what it is, learn to cast it a few times and eventually master it." He said to himself remembering how she taught him about God Blow without using the skills points they had just found out about.

"When using this attack just focus your aura into your fist and let it fly towards your target. The strength will vary upon how much you put into it. The attack will also purify anything it touches as well." Aqua had instructed the day before.

"I decided to use my Angelic Aura then for that attack, considering she said it was able to purify anything. I figured it would be a bad idea to use my Demonic Aura." He paused for a moment to look at his hands. "There is so much about my ancestors powers that were sealed away with the curse Gabriel, the Archangel of Vengeance, placed upon my ancestor which followed every one of us after her."

"Alright, her we go!" Aqua's voice echoed through the Guild Hall and she began to learn all the spells that were available to her. "Ah, I'm finished." She cheered and he gave her a thumbs up and a grin.

"So, which spells do you want to learn?" She asked.

"Which ones have you learned?" He inquired.

"Well I was able to learn some party tricks, one of them is called Nature's Beauty and Create Water. Those are the only ones I will teach you for those toads you saved me from." She said with a smile and a wink.

"Okay fine," He said feeling frustrated knowing it would be a futile effort to squeeze out one more. He looked down at his card and noticed all the skills she showed him. "Huh, why is Explosion on my card already?" He whispered and Aqua barely heard him.

"Wait, what, how is that there?!" She shouted.

"I don't know for sure, maybe since I was watching Megumin yesterday using it I guess it shows up. I do have a lot of points to spend in order to learn it along with upgrading my casting ability, effectiveness of the spell, mana points, and so on. I might as well advance myself in this way since I haven't run into anyone who has a sword ability for me to learn. Not that it wouldn't matter anyway since I still have all my memories from my time with the Academy training in swordplay plus Admiral Jaeger's training." Maximus said and began to motion the points to the skills and skill tree on his card.

The next moment a bright light shined within his mind and he felt as though his entire body was changing within an instant. He could feel a twisting motion down to his very core and once it was over, he stood there filled with the information about the new spells he learned.

"Is that what people of this world experience when learning something new?" He wondered. "I feel as though I am renewed in some way as if someone reshaped me in the slightest yet biggest way possible." He said out loud.

"Well, that's how everything works in this world. We Gods found it easier this way to help people out. It's really effective in a lot of ways." Aqua explained.

Maximus' gaze was upon her with a confused look.

"What, why are you looking at me as though I said something weird?" Aqua inquired and after a few moments she began to feel uncomfortable. His gaze was blank and she began to assume the worst.

"It's just Kazuma was saying how ill-advised you are about this world. He stated something to the effect that you were completely stupid and yet you know enough about this system." He informed her.

Aqua began to be filled with anger for Kazuma. "Just because I watch over dozens of worlds doesn't mean I don't know anything about each of them!" She shouted and began to go on a tantrum.

"Yeah, yeah, you can bash his head in when you see him. Although you will most likely forget about it in five seconds anyway." Maximus said and noticed his card showed he had a few skill points left to spend.

Aqua calmed down and went up to the upper level of the bar and began to perform various party tricks for the patrons. Maximus looked at his card once more when the next moment Kazuma walked in through the doors.

"Oh man, I can't believe I decided to stay at the stables until noon. Then again, how could I face those two after them hearing me or did they? And then they just decided to leave me behind. Those idiots, I can't believe they would leave me like that." He said to himself and turned to see Maximus looking at his card.

"Hey, why didn't you let me know you were going to town today?" Kazuma inquired with anger in his voice.

"I figured you were old enough to do as you please," Maximus paused for a moment to place his card in the coat pocket. "Besides, rest your worries away, if Aqua and I had found a quest we would've returned to pick you up. Plus, you haven't been sounding too well these last few days."

"Uh, so, that actually happened! Does he know about the little hole I found to spy on Aqua when she's changing?" He thought to himself feeling his anxiety mount by the second. "Not to mention he can hear me doing," Kazuma stopped for a moment and hid his embarrassed face. He turned his head up and noticed Maximus hadn't turned his way yet.

"Always ruffling around, moaning, groaning, and grunting as though you were having some kind of stomachache. It appears this world's food and drinks don't agree with you at all." Maximus said and turned to face him.

"Wait, is he that naïve or does he know what I have been doing and is just helping me save face at this moment?" Kazuma wondered to himself.

The next moment a loud roar of cheering echoed from the second floor with Aqua thanking her audience. She turned around and noticed Kazuma and walked toward the railing.

"Oh Kazuma, your finally awake. Are you feeling better from your stomachache this morning? Also, do you like my new skill? It's called Nature's Beauty." She said with a cheerful smile.

"That's just a party trick, dork." He said to himself.

Kazuma turned to head for the bar at the opposite end of the desk where Luna would be usually seen. Maximus had noticed she hadn't appeared yet and wondered if she was going to show up. He wanted to finish their discussion that was interrupted last night. Kazuma was at his side still pacing forward with his head hanging low, avoiding eye contact.

"By the way, I know what it was you were doing these past few days." He said and stopped momentarily.

Kazuma flinched in fear wondering what he was going to say or do to him.

"I will plug up that hole you found to use in watching Aqua changing clothes. This behavior is not becoming of a gentleman. In the future should the need for you to relieve yourself of any tension that arises, go and do that outside far from the stables. That will be all I will say on this matter." Maximus informed him.

Kazuma had paused for a moment and then continued on to the bar.

"I can't believe he knows what I was doing, was I that loud, also how did he find the hole in the wall?" Kazuma said to himself.

After a while Megumin had joined Kazuma at the bar, once she arrived the two began to have a conversation between them.

Maximus still hadn't seen Luna show up at all and began to wonder about her. He was pressed up against the wall next to the stairs that led up to the second floor. The next moment the doors to the Guild opened and Darkness walked through with someone only Maximus could guess as a friend of hers. After walking through the doors, she instantly recognized him standing not far from them.

"Oh no, why did she have to show up at this very moment." Maximus said with the same uncomfortable feeling he had last night with her.

"Maximus," She nearly shouted. "I see that you are here, but where are the rest of your party members?" She inquired and walked up to him.

Kazuma had barely heard Darkness call out to Maximus and he began to remember being told about her. "So, that's the young woman he was going on about? From here she looks like a normal girl, but the way she was acting as described by him was alarming." He said to himself.

He decided to keep watch on Maximus as Darkness continued.

"It appears as though your party isn't here right now, shall we wait for them?" She inquired.

"No, I thought it over during the night and came to the conclusion you would be a big benefit for our party." Maximus said and soon realized what he spurted out.

Kazuma saw the look on his face and feared the worst. "Wait, did he actually just accepted her without thinking it properly?"

Darkness was speechless and beginning to feel confused. "I actually got someone to accept me, this is glorious!" She shouted spinning around with joy that soon turned to disappointment. "But I wish you would have tormented me a little more." She whispered but was loud enough for Maximus and her friend could only hear.

"This kind of behavior is seriously not becoming of a lady, especially one who is a knight. At least I think you are by the way you dress." Maximus said with his hand pressed against his face. "I can't believe I said I'd allow her to join. Although, I did think it best to say that instead of watching her be filled with out of placed excitement." He said to himself.

"Oh, Darkness you shouldn't say such a thing," Her friend stepped forward. "It's that kind of behavior that drives away potential party members. But I guess you can rejoice since he accepted you." She finished and turned to Maximus.

"Oh, by the way, this is my friend Chris." Darkness introduced her to him.

"Hello, I am Maximus, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He said extending out his hand.

"Likewise." Chris said with a smile and they shook their hands. "By the way, word has it you defeated a Manticore with your bare hands in just three strikes. That's quite an impressive feat."

"Well, I did use a bow and arrow along with a sword, not to mention it was several dozen strikes." Maximus thought about saying but kept it to himself.

"To defeat one of them would take great strength and skill and it's more remarkable you escaped unscathed. What are your stats like?" She inquired and Maximus handed his card to her. "Wow, your strength and the other stats are the highest I have ever seen for a new adventurer." She said and studied his card further. "I see you have a few skill points left to use; would you like to learn a few skills from me?" She inquired. "I decided to step away from my post to see him in person and he doesn't seem to disappoint so far." She said to herself.

Maximus was about to respond when Darkness burst out after failing to contain her excitement at the thought of fighting a Manticore. "Oh, how I wish I were there to join you in battle against the beast, let alone witness it firsthand." Darkness said but thought more about being ravaged by such a creature and began to shiver with excitement from it.

Maximus took notice of her behavior and began to feel more uncomfortable.

"Maximus, I wish to ask you something." Darkness said to get his attention and he turned up towards her wondering what she could be wishing to know and feared what she could ask. "Those two women in your party, why were they covered in such filthy slime yesterday?" Her eyes had the same crazy excited look as before and pressed herself against him.

Maximus was holding his composure with every ounce of strength not to show how uncomfortable he was with her attitude. He dreaded the thought of how she will further act after hearing about what happened to Aqua and Megumin.

"Her behavior is unbearable, is there no concept of boundaries with this woman?" He wondered to himself. "We were attacked by some Giant Toads and they were swallowed whole and the results were what you saw." He responded.

"How can he keep his composure with her being literally right in his face?" Kazuma wondered and thought about how he would have acted in that situation. Kazuma coughed a little and decided to join in after seeing what was transpiring.

Before he could get close Darkness continued with her behavior. She was hunched down with disappointment. "Oh, if only I were there to join in on such humiliation," She stopped herself briefly feeling a little embarrassed from admitting what she wanted. "I-I mean, as a knight I cannot stand idly by and hear about such ill treatment, therefore, when we are to go into the field, please do not hesitate to use me as your shield. You can even abandon me if you wish, I mean if the situation calls for it." She explained to him grabbing his coat with both hands, pressing up against him uncomfortably close.

"Hey, Maximus, can I talk to you for a moment before anything else happens." Kazuma said and Maximus felt slightly relieved.

The two walked over away from them and stood by one of the many tables.

"Are you out of your mind, why did you let someone like her join our party without a second's hesitation?" He inquired.

"Well, for starters, I thought it would have been best to accept her as to avoid seeing her get excited from being rejected. How was I supposed to know she would still act in such a manner after being accepted?" Maximus said feeling annoyed by Darkness' attitude.

Kazuma sighed and walked up to Darkness.

"Look, I know he already said you can join, but I have to decline it right away." Kazuma informed her.

The next moment Darkness was filled with an exhilarating feeling, a quick shot of ecstasy flowed down her spine. She folded her arms across her chest, hugging herself tightly.

"Oh yes, so fast and straightforward with your decision." She gasped out and began to breath rapidly with enjoyment.

"Is she really enjoying this? Ew!" Kazuma said to himself almost shivering.

"And there's that strange behavior of hers I saw last night and moments ago. I believe I have doomed us with a party member who extremely enjoys pain of all sorts by her attitude." Maximus said to himself as he stood there feeling uncomfortable at her reaction.

"Anyway, do you still want me to teach you a few things? You can bring your friend if you want, so long as he has skill points to spend that is." Chris said to change the subject after seeing their faces filled with disgust.

"Uh, yeah, I don't have a lot of points to spend, but I'd love to learn some." Kazuma said with excitement. "Yes, I'm going to learn some adventuring stuff from someone. This will be cool!" He thought to himself.

The four of them left the Guild and went a few blocks away.

"By the way, what kind of adventurer are you?" Kazuma inquired and Maximus had the same thought brewing in the back of his mind.

"Can't you tell, I'm a Thief class or Rogue, depending on one's perspective." Chris informed them. "Now then, I'll teach you three useful skills that someone like me uses a lot. There's Enemy Detection, Lurk, and Steal; they are self-explanatory. Use these three together to catch your target off guard in order to do this. Oh, and you can only target one person at a time." She paused for a moment to hold out her hand. "Steal." She said.

The next moment a bright light shined forth blinding the two. Once it was over, she finished explaining.

"Once you successfully complete this skill any item that is of high value to your target becomes yours. Or in another way of saying the higher the luck you have the greater the value of the item." She said and opened her hand to reveal Maximus' coin pouch.

"Now you can use your skill points to learn what I had taught you two." Chris informed them.

They both pulled out their cards and looked at them. Kazuma saw the three skills and pressed upon to select them. Maximus did the same and once finished they both tapped the icon where their image was and the same light as before shined within the both of them. Once it was over Chris was about to hand over the pouch but decided to hold onto it a little more.

"Before we continue on, how's about making a wager?" She inquired the two.

Maximus tilted his head a little with slight interest and Kazuma had an unsure thought brew within his mind.

"Please tell me you are not going to actually do this to him? Risking his own money?" Darkness protested.

"It's alright, if he doesn't, he can turn away without his pouch or he can win his money back. If you want to see how the skill works for you just step forward." She said with a smirk.

"Oh, I'll get my money back, just you wait and see." Maximus declared to her with newfound determination. "If I don't get it back, I'm going to be broke." He said to himself.

"Wait Maximus, I would like to go first, it's the least I can do to help repay you for everything you have done to help me." Kazuma said stepping in between the two.

Maximus nodded standing by and decided to watch what the results would yield.

"Alright, are you ready?" Kazuma asked.

"I'll say if you are very lucky, you might get my magical dagger which is really good at fighting against Demons. However, if you're unlucky, you'll get these rocks." She said opening her hands to reveal the stones she picked up.

"This isn't going to be easy, it's literally survival of the fittest in this world. If I can pull this off maybe Maximus won't look down on me so much." Kazuma said to himself. "Alright, Steal!" He shouted raising his hand up and a bright light shined towards Chris.

Once the light died down everyone stood still and Maximus wondered if he had stolen anything after seeing nothing was visible.

"Wait, something is wrong here," Chris said feeling a chilling sensation in her lower body.

Kazuma began to hold his hands above his head. "Now, let's see what I got here." He peaked up and opened his hands to discover a sight he never would have thought possible. "Yes! Jackpot!" He maniacally laughed waving his hand around.

"This isn't even funny Kazuma, give them back right now!" She shouted at him pressing her hands against her shorts and crossing her legs.

Darkness stood there with excitement and gasped. "If only that were me instead of Chris, oh the humiliation she is going through. I must experience the same shame right now!" She quickly approached Maximus and stood there with her arms spread to the side. "Maximus, I wish for you to do the same to me this instant." She shouted at him. "To have a rough man such as him to cause me the same humiliation is something I must experience. My only regret is there's no one else to watch this take place." She said to herself.

Maximus stood there annoyed at the idea that she would ask such a thing. "Why can't she be just a normal young woman and not act in such a manner?" He wondered to himself. "Very well, just remember you asked for this." He replied to her. "I can't believe I'm indulging in this for her." He said to himself.

"Steal!" Maximus shouted and the bright light quickly shined and the other two braced themselves.

The next moment Darkness began to wait for the inevitable moment of missing a piece of clothing, but no such feeling occurred. Maximus began to open his hand and soon noticed a medallion with what looked to him as a crest belonging to a family.

"What kind of medallion is this?" Maximus inquired.

Before he knew it, Darkness took the medallion away from him. She turned around and squatted down as if to hide in shame. She did not want him to see it as being evidence she belonged to a prestige family in the kingdom. Her face was turning bright red and Kazuma had wondered what he took from her. The next moment he gave it no more thought as he went back to being immature about stealing Chris' panties.

Maximus walked up behind him and smacked the top of his head with his fist. Kazuma was instantly slammed against the ground and almost buried into it. A small crater formed around where he laid and Chris' panties were gliding down like a feather. Maximus snatched them and approached her. She began to wonder what he could possibly do and feared the worst.

"By the way, I meant to say, 'give the little lady back her article of clothing' but found myself slamming my fist on top of your head instead." He stretched his hand forward with her panties in it. "Please forgive his rudeness, in the future I'll try to instill in him a better way of living." He said to her with a gentle look in his eyes.

Chris was being mesmerized by his compassion and his character. "Oh, thank you." She said feeling unsure of how to proceed and was beginning to find herself thinking about the two of them. "I now know why Aqua is so infatuated with him. He's compassionate, impressively strong, and cares for those around him. Don't think for a second you're going to keep him to yourself. I know he has demonic ancestry, but I can see he is a good man. Aqua, the game is on." She said to herself.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Annual Cabbage Harvest & the First Unofficial Outing:**

"Huh, oh there you two are. Where have you been all this time?" Aqua inquired after seeing Maximus walking through the front doors of the Guild. She studied him a little further and noticed Kazuma, unconscious, wrapped in Maximus' right arm. "What happened to him?"

Maximus looked down at Kazuma. "Oh, him, I had to teach him some manners and may have overdid it just a bit." He said raising his free hand forming a pinching gesture and a small innocent smile on his face.

"It was horrible, he was such a perverted boy that if Maximus wasn't there who knows what he would have done after that." Chris said on the verge of crying and pressing close to Maximus, wrapping her arms around his left arm.

"So, it is true, he's a creep after all. I knew it from the moment I first saw him." Aqua said in terror hugging her chest and backing away from him.

"Is this true?" Megumin asked.

"It is true, your friend here was in need of some discipline after using a steal skill on Chris. This resulted in her panties being taken and afterward he was being overjoyed about it. That is when Maximus punished him for it." Darkness briefly explained and afterward she began to blush a little with a thought. "If ever you feel I have stepped over my bounds, feel free to punish me in the same fashion!" She said almost shouting it at Maximus wrapping her arms across her chest thinking about being bashed over the head by him.

Maximus looked at her as she was on the verge of hyperventilating and his uncomfortable feeling towards her was overflowing him. "For heavens sake, she is so weird." He said to himself.

Maximus placed Kazuma upon the bench and looked over to the bar. "Hey, can I get a pitcher of water drawn up over here?" He shouted over.

"Coming right up sir." The bartender responded.

After being handed the pitcher Maximus dumped it on top of Kazuma. "Wake up kid."

Kazuma quickly awakened to the cold sting of the water being dumped upon him and the moment after he sprung to life.

"Ah, what was that for?!" He inquired looking down at his drenched tracksuit. The moment after his head began to feel as though it was swelling up. He slightly pressed his hands upon his head to relieve the pain.

"Isn't it obvious, it was meant to wake you up from your unconscious state. Now then, I believe we must discuss about what quest to go on" Maximus sat down on the opposite side of Kazuma. "Not to mention we never established who the leader of this party would be."

"I think that should be obvious," Kazuma said looking down at the table. "You should be our leader."

Maximus sat there feeling surprised that Kazuma didn't put up a bid for himself to be the party leader. "Alright," He turned to the others who were standing near the table. "What say you all about me being the party leader?"

"Sure, I would've voted for you anyway over him." Aqua said sitting next to Maximus and wrapped her arms around his right arm.

"I agree, I think it would be a great idea." Megumin added pressing her hand on his right shoulder.

"As long as we go on very difficult quests where there's a chance we could be captured and tortured beyond belief. Oh, the horrors those enemies would make us endure as they ravage our bodies with shameful acts." Darkness shouted out hugging herself with excitement building rapidly.

"And there she goes with her weird attitude." Both Maximus and Kazuma thought to themselves.

Maximus turned to Chris and she was hesitating for a moment. "Uh, I don't know if I should join your party to be honest. I do have other obligations so I may not be there all the time." She laughed nervously with her hand behind her head, scratching it.

"Well, you can be an honorary member until the time you decide to fully join us. In between your obligations and whenever you are around, you can always team up with us as there will always be an open slot for you." He said with a smile and his free arm extended out in a welcoming gesture.

"Sure, that'd be great." She replied with a smile and immediately wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

She glanced over at Aqua who was having an upset look on her face. Chris looked over at her and pressed her right index finger under her right eye lid slightly pulling it down and stuck her tongue out. The two locked their gazes for a few moments before Chris backed away. She faced Maximus and kissed him on the forehead. She leaned back and winked at him.

Maximus was unsure of what to do in that moment. He could sense Aqua's anger mounting by the second.

Kazuma sat there feeling his jealousy build up. "Oh man, this is so not fair. How come he is getting the attention of all the hot chicks so far. This was supposed to be my start at a new life and here he is taking it away from me. Why couldn't I start out like him?" He thought to himself.

Darkness was surprised about Chris' action and wondered why she kissed Maximus. "Could she be developing a crush on him already?" She paused for a moment looking at him. "I do not deny he is a very attractive man. His large stature would be ideal to receive torment from. His strength is unmatched thus far and after defeating a Manticore with his bare hands, it's obvious as to why that is. I must be punished by this man right now!" She finished her thought and began to think about Maximus torturing her.

Before she could continue with the thought, Luna's voice was echoing throughout the hall and the town.

"Emergency quest, emergency quest, we need all able adventurers assemble at the front gate immediately!" Her voice sounded as though something terrible was forth coming.

Everyone began to make their way to the gate and on the way there both Maximus and Kazuma began to wonder what could make everyone panic. They saw many people in the markets running in fear, terror filled their eyes. Many prepared themselves for this important event.

After everyone gathered, they all waited outside the walls of the town. Both Maximus and Kazuma kept their gaze forward after seeing everyone else was still facing in the same direction.

"What could everyone be so afraid of?" Kazuma asked out loud.

"Who knows for sure, but I get the feeling we are about to find out." Maximus responded.

The next moment the clouds darkened as if on the verge of raining. The atmosphere had a gloomy feel to signal a coming terror.

"This is going to get ugly." The Mohawk guy said barely over a whisper.

Both Maximus and Kazuma began to sweat a little wondering what is coming their way. The next moment the two saw just over the horizon, far off from the town, a green haze that looked like a massive cloud of fog. They kept their focus for a moment longer as the massive object barrel towards them.

"What is that, a giant blob or a green monster?" Kazuma asked out loud backing away from where he stood.

"Oh no, silly, those are just cabbages." Aqua informed him.

Both Maximus and Kazuma were confused.

"In this world, cabbages fly at the time they are ripe and ready to be eaten. They soar great distances to be capture and be devoured by their captors. The ones that are never captured, continue on until they wind up in a secluded, desolate place to rot and die, having never been eaten." She paused for a moment from explaining to them. "Which is such a waste, so we should capture as many as we can." She giggled.

"It's harvest time!" Everyone shouted with cheer.

"Unleash the mayonnaise!" Aqua shouted with a smile.

The next moment all of the adventurers charged forth with Maximus hanging back wondering if it would be worth capturing any of the vegetables. Kazuma took a step but quickly noticed Maximus was standing his ground.

"This year's harvest is the best one yet and as such we are offering a hundred thousand Eris for every cabbage you can catch. We even have water cages to store them in to keep them fresh." Luna shouted through the paper megaphone. She then looked over seeing Maximus at the back of the pack. "Maximus, good luck with this quest." She waved to him with a smile.

Maximus winked at her and turned to Kazuma and with a smile.

"What do you say to a little bet?" He inquired.

"Huh, how can I even compete against you?" Kazuma protested the idea.

"Tell you what, you can use the new skills Chris taught you as a handicap and I'll stick with my natural ability. Deal?" He said in an attempt to be enthusiastic about the situation.

"Uh, ok, I'll hold you to that though." Kazuma said with little doubt he would do well.

The next moment the two split from where they stood and began to round up lots of vegetables. Darkness tried with all her might to chop the lively food and was missing every single target. She began to feel embarrassed with each missed strike.

Maximus had made his way around the horde of vegetables scooping up every cabbage he could find and return with blinding speeds to a cage he designated for himself. His movements were near lightning speeds that no one was capable of keeping track of him, he zipped through them all from side to side. He had gathered a large portion of the horde when he heard the cry of a random adventurer grunt in pain.

Maximus turned to see the man laying on the ground and many others were beginning to join him across the field. The next moment a lone cabbage was barreling towards the man at high speeds and he feared the worst would happen. He closed his eyes and when the vegetable was a few feet away he heard the crushing sound of metal against the food.

Maximus noticed Darkness had stood in front of the man with her arms crossed to block the potential damaging impact. She stood there unfazed as many other cabbages began to funnel their way towards her. Each hit slammed against here with such force her armor began to crack under the surprising power. Every other cabbage took off a shred of her armor and she continued to stand her ground. The man behind her began to beg for her to run away.

"I will not stand by while there is someone who is in need of assistance. I must, as a knight, protect my comrades in arms!" She shouted.

Everyone around began to admire her bravery as the cabbages continued to pound against her. Soon after her armor was in pieces and her clothing were on the verge of being torn off completely. Darkness slightly turned feeling aroused at the situation.

"Rough uncouth men are looking at my bear naked body with lustful eyes," She thought to herself and paused for a moment. Her clothing almost completely gone as she continued her perverted thought. "It's shameful, embarrassing, glorious!" She spread her arms slightly exposing herself through her torn clothes.

"She's getting off on it, a true masochist." Kazuma said to himself.

"Why is she acting this way, it's completely not the way a lady should act." Maximus said barely over a whisper.

The next moment he rushed over pulling his trench coat off to use as cover for her. When he was a few feet away he heard the overly excited incantation of Megumin's Explosion Spell. The moment he got to Darkness the spell was activated and he and Darkness were caught within the explosion. Darkness could feel the burning sensation upon her skin and was aroused after being hit with such force. Maximus had placed his hand forth to form an energy barrier that was quickly destroyed by the blast.

The two stood there slightly hunched, breathing rapidly, and when Maximus looked over, he saw Darkness standing before him completely naked. His face turned red as the rose and he quickly dashed over to cover her with his trench coat.

"Here, you should put this on so no one would stare at you awkwardly." He coughed a little and after doing that he turned away for a moment to allow her to put it on.

She maneuvered her arms through the sleeves and soon found it to be much bigger than she first thought. She could still feel the warmth of his body within it and started to feel impressed with his actions.

"Thank you for allowing me to wear your coat." She said buttoning it up and buckled the belt across her waist due to the fact of how tall he was compared to her. "This is truly a chivalrous act. He would shield me from being publicly shamed by the others, to not allow myself to lose my dignity." She thought to herself thinking highly of him in that moment.

"Whatever dignity she had is more than likely gone by now." Maximus said to himself.

"That was truly an inspiring act of bravery." One man shouted with praise to her.

"We knights should learn a thing or two from her." Another knight added.

"No! She's just freaky." Kazuma said to himself.

"What is wrong with the men in this town that they would completely miss her behavior?" Maximus wondered to himself.

Everyone began to round up their haul and afterwards returned to the Guild Hall for the rest of the day.

Later on, during the celebration at the Guild, Maximus was sitting at the table with Aqua to his right and Darkness across from her. She was wearing Maximus' long blue trench coat that looked more like she was in a tent. Megumin was sitting next to her and Kazuma on her right.

They were all enjoying the stir fry cabbage that was cooked up from the day's harvest. Chris walked up to Maximus and wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders. She pressed herself very close to him and had a big smile forming on her face.

"What are you doing?" Maximus inquired after she latched onto him.

"What's wrong, you don't like me next to you?" She inquired with a teasing voice.

"No, I just thought you would like it better if you sit down and be more comfortable." Maximus said.

"I thought you'd never asked Maximus." She quickly replied and sat next to him wrapping her arms around his. "That's so generous of you to look after my well-being, you are a kindhearted man, one that every woman should go after." She said with a smile and shot a quick glance at Aqua who was already becoming angry.

"Hey, there's no need for you to get all touchy feely with Maximus!" Aqua began to shout and took hold of Maximus' right arm. "Besides, that is what I am for whenever we sleep at night. The two of us share a haystack after all, so if anyone is going to do that with him, it's going to be me." She declared.

Aqua shot an intense stare with annoyance in her eyes and Chris had a smirk forming. Maximus sat there feeling annoyed by their staring war and continued to eat his meal.

"What is it with Chris, acting like she knows me somehow. It's annoying that she just shows up out of the blue and thinks she can take him away from me! If that's the case, she has another thing coming." Aqua said to herself.

"It's hysterical to see how serious she is taking this. She may be my senior, but that's not going to stop me from getting his affection. He'll soon see how I am much more levelheaded if he hasn't already." Chris grinned more and giggled a little.

"Wait, do the two of you know each other or something?" Kazuma inquired of the two. "Because it sure seems like it."

Aqua looked over at him for a moment and back at Chris.

"No, I've never seen her before until today." Aqua and Chris said at the same time.

The two realized they had spoken at once and looked at each other. Aqua had an annoyed look forming on her face with a hint of anger. Chris had an innocent smile as she thought about the real truth of it all.

The next moment Luna approached the group and stood at the side of the table. Maximus took notice of her and he felt a little awkward with having the two girls sitting so close to him. She was unsure if she should approach him further with a question that was forming in her head.

"Maximus, it's good to see you." She said with slight excitement and feeling a little insecure.

"Likewise, Luna," Maximus quickly shot back. "You know we never did get to finish that conversation from last night about our outing." He finished.

"No, we never did. I guess we could talk about it another time." She said looking down at her hands, which were twiddling her thumbs. "Well, until then,"

"No, wait, please stay and join us. There is plenty of room at the table here" Maximus said with a welcoming gesture. Luna hesitated for a moment before sitting down next to Chris. "Let's call this an unofficial outing for now and work out the kinks for next time." He finished looking at her golden eyes.

She smiled back and the whole group began to eat and drink the night away. Later on, Chris and Darkness bid them farewell and Maximus escorted Luna back to her place. Aqua was too drunk to realize where they were going and Maximus embraced Luna before leaving her place. After shutting the door, she became wrapped up in the moment of feeling his warm welcoming embrace. In that moment she felt safe and secure and afterward wanted the two of them to be together even more.

Maximus returned to the stables with Aqua in his arms and he laid her down in the haystack. He decided to wrap his blanket on top of hers and leaned against the wall for the night.

"Maybe next time Luna and I can actually do something together without any interruptions." He said to himself and began to think about Chris. "I find it weird that Chris suddenly latched onto me after the incident with Kazuma. I feel like I am now in one of those stories from the 'Fable' where the chief character ends up with multiple wives. I believe they call it a Harem or something of the sort." He stopped to look out the window, his gaze fixed on the stars of the nights sky.

The next moment Chris' image appeared before him and he was surprised. He wiped his eyes for a moment and looked up once more. He discovered her image no longer before him.

"I can't help but feel as though I am becoming attached to this world. Luna and I seemed to be drawn to each other a little more every time we meet. Now I have Chris who immediately started to grow an attachment the very same day we met." He stopped to turn back to Aqua. "Then there's her, so unbelievably childish, rude, a bit narcissistic, and not to mention completely helpless. Yet at the same time I can't help but feel the need to look after her. Is this connection between us really growing off of that?" He wondered to himself.

He began to think about the day's events as if to look over them. He started to think about the women he has met thus far once more.

"Chris and Luna are the only two who are levelheaded and not so much of a pain to deal with. But Aqua and now Darkness, I feel is going to be quite the handful to manage. What have I gotten myself into and can I keep my sanity until I defeat the Demon King? Or is that even worth undertaking?" He said to himself.

He began to think about Kazuma for a moment.

"Poor Kazuma, at the dinner table he had the look of someone who was defeated severely without taking a punch." He paused for a moment when a thought brewed up. "In the morning I'll teach him some swordplay that I had learned from my life on Lorin, maybe that will get his confidence up a lot or at least I hope it will." Maximus said to himself and began to close his eyes to sleep for the night.

Chris had appeared in her Goddess form like a transparent figure. She sat next to him seeing him sleeping uncomfortably against the wall. She leaned against him with her hands on his right hand.

"It's such a shame Aqua had taken you out of your world, but if that hadn't happened; then I wouldn't have met you. I can't believe I am falling for one who has Demonic blood within their veins. But that isn't a bad thing considering his personality and the way he treats others." She said feeling bad for him and pressed her right hand on his forehead to take the discomfort out of him which had built up. "I'm going to keep my watchful eye on you, Maximus." She leaned up to kiss his forehead once more and disappeared.

Maximus awoke to the familiar feeling of Chris' kiss from earlier. He pressed his hand on his forehead and slightly felt the damp feeling. He looked around and turned to look out the stable in the direction of the other stalls. His eyes beheld a beautiful woman standing at the opening. She was dress in a manner of a Goddess with purple clothing. She smiled with a wink and slowly faded away.

"Who was that just now and why did she nearly had the same face as Chris?" He wondered to himself. "Could they be related or are they the same person? The only difference is Chris had a scar." He finished his thought.

The next moment he felt his body wasn't in pain anymore as it usually would be sleeping in such an uncomfortable situation. He soon felt the fatigue of the day's events and fell back to sleep the night away.


	8. Chapter 8

**A Debt Settled & The First Outing:**

Maximus and Kazuma were sitting at the table within the Guild eating breakfast after an intense and hard morning's training session. He had taught Kazuma all the things he needed to learn about sword fighting and instructed him they would continue this regimen for three months.

"Oh man, I am so sore from all that physical training before advancing into sword training. Not to mention you didn't have to hit me that hard with the side of your sword every time I screwed up you know." Kazuma said rubbing his shoulder.

"Well, I would have used a wooden sword, but this training idea was a spur of the moment. Not to mention when I was training with the sword on my home world, we used real swords instead of wooden ones. It allows you to get a proper feel to it." Maximus explained.

Kazuma was about to speak when a few words rang loudly in his ear.

"Wait a minute, you said home world." He said feeling a little confused.

"Yes, I did." Maximus responded wondering what he implied.

"Don't you mean Earth?" Kazuma inquired.

"That is not the name of my world, it is called Lorin." Maximus responded taking a sip from the cup of water before him. "I do know of a world by that name, an acquaintance of mine lived on such a world." Maximus took another sip and placed the cup on the table.

"So, wait, are you some kind of adventurer from your world?" Kazuma inquired further, leaning forward a little more with great interest. "If this guy answers yes, it would make so much sense as to why he is so good at a lot of things. But wait, I thought Aqua only ferried young boys from Japan and not anywhere else. This will require further investigation." He thought to himself.

"No, on my world I was a Supernatural Detective. I investigate various crimes committed by the supernatural and deal with them accordingly. This would usually result in their deaths as there are laws the monsters living on my world within the Human Realm had to abide by. Anyone who is found guilty of a crime is punished for their unjust acts. The ones that die usually have committed murder against humans." Maximus stopped for a moment to finish his meal before him and took one last sip. "Anything else is usually them returning to the Monster Realm for a time until they have shown they can behave in the Human Realm." Maximus finished.

Kazuma was a little excited hearing him talk about another world that seemed like a fantasy one and was amazed. He sat there speechless as he began to wonder what that would be like.

"Holy crap, this guy seems like he's awesome in his own world!" Kazuma stopped for a moment as another thought brewed in the back of his mind. "Wait, if you are from another world, then how did you end up here?" He inquired.

"Well, after the battle with the Demon Lords of Wrath and Lust on my world, I found myself waking up from what I thought was my slumber for the night only to wind up in front of a chair." Maximus stopped for a moment waving down the Barkeep for another drink. "Shortly after that Aqua appeared and informed me that I had died despite how my health was. She later confessed causing my heart to stop and brought my soul over in order to help this world. So, I vowed to make her life a living Hell by bringing her here to the mortal realm." He finished explaining and began to drink a little from the new cup.

"Wait, how does you bringing her here qualify as making her life a living Hell?" Kazuma inquired.

"Well think about it," He paused for a moment and Kazuma had a blank look in his eyes as he didn't quite connect the dots Maximus was thinking.

"Uh," Kazuma stalled for a moment.

Maximus sighed feeling annoyed he didn't get the point. "What is Aqua again?" Maximus folded his arms across his chest.

"She keeps saying she's a Goddess, despite how useless and helpless she is." Kazuma replied and waited.

Maximus shook his head side to side. "It should have been so obvious I thought for sure you would have figured it out already." He said feeling his frustration mount. "Think about it further considering her status. She's a Goddess and usually, no matter what world you're from or what deities you believe in from various stories, most of them consider the Mortal Realm to be beneath them. Usually, Hell is referred to by some as a place that is beneath them. Whether it's physical of theological, Hell can be defined as a place where people tend to suffer in the most unimaginable way possible." Maximus stopped to see if Kazuma would get the point.

"So, by you dragging her down here, you have quite literally pulled her into Hell?" Kazuma answered in a questioning manner.

"Precisely," Maximus said with a slight excited smile seeing Kazuma making the connection. "Considering she used to live in a place of purity, she never once had to worry about keeping herself warm, cool herself off, struggle with fatigue, cook, eat, clean herself off, and so on." Maximus continued.

"Nearly everything we mortals have to deal with on a daily basis, she now has to figure it all out on her own." Kazuma chimed in and paused for a moment. "You're either a mastermind or an accidental genus, I figured I would have to pester her everyday if I was in your shoes." Kazuma began to chuckle a little.

"That would be the literal icing on the proverbial cake, I don't have to lift a finger to torment her any more than life itself is doing to her altogether." Maximus added.

"So, why didn't you leave her behind when you first got her?" Kazuma inquired.

"I ended up taking pity on how helpless she was at that moment and decided I would look after her, but not totally baby her through this life." Maximus replied. "Besides, I'm not that cruel and I thought she might come in handy. So, there you have it."

"Oh, Maximus, there you are," Darkness' voice echoed after walking through the doors. She had turned to them and approached with her armor and clothing repaired. "What do you think of my new armor, isn't it radiant?" She asked wondering if he would either complement or insult her in some way.

Maximus turned around and saw her clothing was the same as before. He felt unimpressed by it and looked down to see his trench coat was neatly folded in her arms.

"It looks the same as the one that was destroyed, not to mention, it doesn't look all that inspiring to me. It's almost the same kind of stuff some rich Lord's son would wear." Maximus responded.

Kazuma had the same unimpressed feeling towards it as well and remembered how she was yesterday. "Yep, totally a rich kid's armor and so extremely weird." He said out loud.

"Oh, honestly, would it hurt the two of you to pay a young woman a compliment at all?" She said barely containing her excitement. The next moment she felt herself going into an orgasmic bliss, hugging herself tightly and began to breath heavily. "Those words coming from you two are so honest and yet so cruel." She hunched over hyperventilating.

"Sorry, I can't hear you, this other weirdo is about to out perv you with her new staff." Kazuma said pointing at Megumin.

She stood there a short distance from the three of them rubbing up against her new magic staff.

"Yep, this day is already starting to get to a sour state." Maximus said to himself.

"By the way Maximus, I have washed your coat you were so kind enough to shield me from being overly exposed yesterday after the harvest. I am grateful you allowed me to take it home to ensure no prying eyes would look upon me with shameful thoughts." Darkness said feeling embarrassed with her face turning red.

"I'm pretty sure that was far too late by the time I was putting it on you." Maximus said.

"Therefore, as a knight I am indebted to you and will look forward to paying this debt off. Whatever wish you desire of me and if it be within my power to grant unto you it shall be yours." She proclaimed to him not hearing a word he said before. At the same moment she had a thought of him wishing her to be his personal slave to torture every day. Her smile was unable to be contained to her thoughts as her face blushed a little more.

"And there is her extremely weird, what was is it Kazuma said, oh yeah, masochistic attitude." He said to himself. "Thank you for taking your time with the care of my coat." He reached for his coat and the two lightly touched their fingers.

Darkness began to smile a little more and he wondered if she did that on purpose.

"He is not usually my ideal man to want after, but I can't help and think how his strong stature would be if he were to torment me day after day. Oh, the things he could do with extreme ease to me, the physical torture he would have me endure would either be shameful or glorious or both!" She thought to herself.

The next moment the they heard Aqua shouting at Luna in disappointment and anger mounting. She was making such a ruckus everyone turned toward her. After a few moments Aqua walked away, nearly skipping, and proceeded to where Maximus was sitting.

"And almost right on queue today we have Aqua approaching the table with something that is most likely a call for help. I can't actually believe I feel bad for Maximus. He said he was going to make her life a living Hell, I bet he now regrets that decision as it seems she's doing that to him. I wonder how far his kindheartedness will take him until he blows up?" Kazuma said to himself.

"Oh Maximus," Aqua innocently said to get his attention.

"What do you want Aqua?" He inquired finishing his drink once more.

"I was just wondering, how much money did you make off the harvest yesterday?" She asked sitting next to him with her arms wrapped around his right arm.

"Why do you want to know that and don't try to beat around the bush, just spit it out." He said looking down at her with a disappointed look on his face.

"Please, I need some money because I owe those guys over there a ton of money. I know we all agreed to split out purses, but I did that because I thought I would have made a killing. But I didn't earn enough money to pay them off and they are threatening me and I don't know what to do?" She cried pointing at two men a short distance away from them.

Maximus turned to look at the two men and they seemed to be unfamiliar with him.

"I wonder if they are from somewhere else, since they aren't running away screaming like anyone else who would know about me end up doing." He wondered.

Maximus stood up and Aqua began to wonder what he was going to do.

"Wait here." He commanded her.

She nodded her head and sat at the table eyeing him the whole way.

The two men felt a little unnerved by his stature and began to be afraid.

"Fellas, I couldn't help but be notified of the debt my party member has with the two of you or is it your employer you're representing whose wanting to collect?" He inquired.

"Sorry, that's confidential information." One of them spoke.

"As it always is," Maximus sighed, feeling annoyed. "I must unfortunately inform you that I will not be handing over the amount due unless you take me to your employer so I can be sure the money gets to them without fail. Will that be a problem?" He informed them.

"Very well, we'll take you to them." The other man said.

The three of them turned to walk out the door and Maximus gestured to his party to wait. After arriving at a place not far from the Guild they entered in and Maximus saw another man who was sitting at a table filled to the brim with money. Maximus quickly recognized the man as being a Loaner as evident by the many papers with numerous names on them. Each had explained a person's debt and how much they owed to him.

"Who is this?" The Loaner asked the other two feeling a little angry.

"He's,"

"I am representing one who is seemingly indebt with you and have come to pay it off in full. So, to insure the money gets to you, I instructed them to take me to you and here I stand for you to see. Is that going to be a problem for you?" Maximus explained to him.

"Hmm, I guess we will see how this encounter fairs. So, who is it you are representing so I can look up what they owe me?" He said with a curious gaze upon Maximus. "He's even taller than I expected from all the rumors about his exploits thus far." He said to himself.

"Her name is Aqua." Maximus replied.

"Ah, yes, the so-called Goddess as she claimed to be. I remembered when she first walked in here to ask about a loan." The Loaner said as he flipped through a lecture which held pages of people who seemed to be in debt with him.

"Could this be a reason why everything is so expensive within the marketplace and maybe a reason for adventurers to stay?" Maximus wondered to himself after keeping a sharp eye on one of the pages that had names and certain amounts next to them. "I wonder if I could strong arm him into getting the prices to go down a lot. No, you're not here for that, just pay off Aqua's debt and be on your way. There would be too much repercussions if I were to do such a thing." Maximus finished his thought.

"Here we are," The Loaner said with a cheer in his voice. "Now, according to my records here, she owes me two-hundred fifty-thousand Eris,"

"Done." Maximus had instantly counted out the money and dropped it on the table.

The Loaner looked over with an unsightly grin still on his face. "Now hold on my good sir, there is still some fees which need to be applied to her final count." He informed him and began to chuckle a little.

"So, you wish to tack on some 'extra fees' to her tab?" Maximus inquired. "I should have known it wasn't going to be this easy, but I wasn't going to get on my hands and knees in order to beg him to forgive this debt of hers or at least extend the deadline." Maximus thought to himself.

The Loaner began to point at the two men behind Maximus who were still at the door. "You see,"

"I already know the score and how this is going to play out, but I am willing to give you a chance to allow me to walk away from this place peacefully and you go on about your daily life. I have her debt here and now and that will be all you will receive." Maximus informed him and felt annoyed by the Loaner's behavior.

The next moment the two men at the door motioned their hands on their daggers.

"Oh, I'm afraid you will have to pay the amount that I will tack on no matter what you say, because my men have their fees to consider and they are expensive. However, I am willing to work out a deal with you, should you wish." He said to him.

"And what deal would that be, just to humor you a little before I leave." Maximus inquired already knowing what his response would be.

"Consider being under my employment." He responded.

"Called it." Maximus said to himself.

"Your friend's debt would be forgiven and I will seek her out no more. You would be paid handsomely, after the rest of her debt from the fees are paid off from what you earn, and you won't have to sleep in the stables every night from then on. I'll see to that myself even, you could essentially live like a king compared to what you are in now. That is if you decide to join my little operation." The Loaner informed him.

"Your offer is quite tempting, such a thing only a madman would refuse. However," Maximus paused for a moment standing up, and began to look down at him with disgust. "After building such a reputation where everyone cheers when seeing me, I believe that would put quite a stain on my image. I feared this moment was going to happen no matter what I do, so I must regretfully decline your offer." Maximus explained.

The next moment the Loaner's body sat there, aged to the point where the skin was shriveled up. His skeleton was completely visible and dried. The life drained entirely from its cold husk and the two men behind him were in the same state. Their bodies were decayed, drained, and on the floor. Maximus had used his Demonic Powers rather quickly to surround the room with his dark aura and drained the life from them without them knowing it had happened.

"It's such an interesting thing to explore my powers now I have full access to them." He said looking down at his hands. "My ancestors, 'The Nephilim', were quite the powerful beings. I sure hope another situation comes along where I can use my Angelic Powers again, soon. Maybe I can purify unholy beings with them." Maximus said out loud within the dark quiet room. "I'm going to hang this debt over her head until she pays me back, which may be a long time from now, but it would be well worth the wait."

Maximus took his money back and placed it in his pocket. He exited the building and stood at the door feeling sorrow for a brief moment. "What's wrong with me, I usually am not like this at all. I feel as though the more I use this Demonic Power within me, I begin to lose a part of myself. It frightens me to feel more energized after absorbing their souls." He paused for a moment to turn around slightly. "I do wish negotiations could have worked out for the best. I wonder if this will come back to haunt me in some way." He turned around and made his way back to the Guild. "Oh well, I will deal with that when it happens." He whispered out.

He rejoined the others and put on a brave face before meeting with them. He did not want them to know anything was wrong with him at all. The five of them sat at the table and began to discuss what to do next. The three girls each came up with an idea that didn't coincide with each other. Both Maximus and Kazuma were annoyed they couldn't come up with a common agreement.

Aqua had wanted a quest with a huge payout after being informed by Maximus she owed him a lot of money. Megumin suggested a quest in an open field so she could test out her new staff. And lastly, Darkness wanted to go on an extremely difficult quest where they could have the chance of being capture and tormented in many twisted ways.

"I am all for the very difficult monsters, however, I'm not so sure how the others will be able to manage that." Maximus added.

"Well, if nothing else, they still need the Giant Toad population to be taken care of. I am confident I could handle them now after what you taught me." Kazuma said confidently.

"No, anything but that!" Aqua protested and began crying.

She held onto Maximus and he felt annoyed but at the same time thought it was hilarious how she was acting. Megumin was trembling in fear after her first encounter with a Giant Toad.

"What's wrong with them, why are they acting in this manner?" Darkness inquired.

"Last time I informed you about our Kill Quest to slay a bunch of toads. We fought against some and these two were snatched by some and nearly digested. It may have left an emotional scar on their minds." Maximus briefly explained.

"I must experience this," She shouted and quickly stopped herself after realizing what she was admitting. "I-I-I mean if I was there things would have gone much different." She said beginning to panic.

"I rather doubt that." Kazuma said.

The day ended with them not deciding on a quest they all could agree on. Both Maximus and Kazuma felt the day was wasted and turned in for the night. The next day Maximus awoke to Aqua once again wrapped around his arm and he was beginning to be accustomed to it. He also felt a little fatigue wear on him and decided to ignore it. Later that day Maximus walked up to the board and noticed there were hardly any good quest to go on.

"What's the deal all of a sudden, why has the quest board been nearly emptied of all the good quests?" Maximus asked out loud.

"Oh, unfortunately one of the Demon King's Generals has set up residence nearby the town. This has caused all of the weaker monsters to go into hiding for now." Luna stepped up to inform him.

Maximus turned to her, noticing her gentle smile and she stood next to him. They both looked at the board once more and she saw nothing was enticing him.

"It doesn't appear to be any good quest for you to go on, no?" She asked. "Maybe this will be a good chance to possibly go on an outing with him." Luna thought to herself.

"You're right about that, at least this way I can have a little more time to plan some things out." He said and rest his chin on his hand. "After viewing some places around town there are a few things that come to mind for the two of us to visit for our outing." He began to think.

"I wonder if he is thinking about an outing for the two of us, it would be nice to settle down with someone like him." She thought as she kept her hopeful gaze upon him.

"Well, since there is nothing worth taking for the day," He stopped to turn to her. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind going on that outing with me?" He asked.

Luna began to brighten up her smile feeling overjoyed with him asking her out. "Sure, I'd love to." She responded.

"I guess I will pick you up later tonight then." He said.

"Uh-huh." Luna nodded and quickly hugged him for a moment before giving him a smile and winking at him. Maximus was a little surprised by what she did and smiled back.

The day pressed on as Darkness informed the party, she was returning home for a while. Aqua began to work at the marketplace and Kazuma and Megumin went off somewhere.

The curtain of the night's sky was beginning to sail across the open air. Maximus returned from watching the farm from the Giant Toads and managed to trade the few that were in the open field in for a reward. He stopped by the board to wait for Luna to arrive and when she appeared out from behind the desk, she waved him down. The two smiled at each other and locked arms.

"I hope you don't mind we start out here for something to eat and move around the town from there." He said.

She kept her smile on while she was standing next to him. "It's alright, I don't mind at all." She replied. "As long as I am with you this won't be bad at all." She said to herself.

The two sat at the table and one of the waitresses approached them. "Can I get you two anything?" She inquired.

"I'll go with the pork special and a grape juice to go with it." Maximus informed her.

"I'll have the same." Luna quickly responded.

"Alright, I'll get that out for you two." The waitress giggled a little at Luna and gave her a wink and a thumbs up.

Maximus couldn't help but notice the gesture. "I guess she's really rooting for her in this endeavor. Considering her looks and her personality, I wonder how she hasn't run, into someone already. I wonder what she was waiting for." He thought to himself.

The two continued to gaze into each other's eyes and after a few more moments Maximus decided to break the silence.

"So how has your day been so far?" He inquired.

"It's actually rather sad," Her smile turned into sorrowful expression which soon turned into fear. "It was discovered this morning that a man, who is known by all as a the one who really runs this town from the shadows, was found dead in his place of business." She stopped for a moment and began to feel cold from what was described at the scene of the crime.

"I somehow knew this could come back, but not this fast." Maximus said to himself.

"The authorities who were there said it was an unsettling scene. The bodies of not only the Loaner, but two men who I saw leaving with you the other day were found as well. They were identified by the clothing they wore." She paused for a moment longer as an unsettling thought popped in her head. "I know I am not officially working right now, but I have to ask you, did you see anything unusual while you were there?" She inquired. "Please tell me you didn't do anything so horrible." She said to herself.

Maximus kept his gaze upon her and she noticed he went from a joyous look into a serious one. "No, I did not notice anything out of the ordinary while I was there or after I left the premises." He responded.

She kept her eyes focused on his and saw nothing that indicated he had any involvement. She began to sigh feeling relieved.

"That being said, I wonder what will become of everything now he has passed away in such a manner?" Maximus inquired.

"Oh, well, everyone's life will be able to go a lot smoother now since he has passed. When he was around, he would cause the fees of everyone's loans to hike up to an amount that is unobtainable. He has made it so everyone would stay in his debt for their entire lives." She explained.

"So, that's the reason why everything is so expensive and why there may be no space available because he, I assumed, owned nearly everything?" Maximus inquired.

"Yes," She nodded her head. "But now he has passed, everyone is able to have the deeds to their places returned to them and all debt erased since he has no one to carry on his unjust business. On top of that the money has been divided among everyone." She informed him feeling a little excited. "Even my place, which was so expensive, I am able to not worry about paying it off."

"The scene of the crime," Maximus interrupted her briefly.

"Uh, yes, what about it?" She asked.

"Did they figure out what had happened?" Maximus leaned forward placing his hands in front of his mouth.

"Last I heard they had assigned someone who is very sharp in investigative work to look it all over. That person is due to arrive from the capital in a month's time from now. But nothing else as far as I am aware." She informed him.

"It may be too much of a bother to go and clean up the place, but I have to be more careful about using my Demonic Powers from here on. There's no telling how thorough this person can be, so I will have to see about cleaning up after myself. I'll have to give this world some credit, I didn't think they would be this fast in order to respond." Maximus said to himself.

Luna could tell he was in deep thought. "Is there something wrong?" She inquired.

"Oh, sorry, I was lost in thought about this situation and didn't really mean to bring it up to have a bad start to our outing." He said and began to think of a way to change the subject but couldn't help but think he needed to insure he cleaned up his mess.

The next moment before they could continue the waitress brought their food and drinks. "Here you two go." She said with a cheerful tone.

"Well, let's not dwell on such a sour moment. How about we restart our outing once more and eat. Then we can go from there." He said to her.

Luna nodded with a small smile forming as she returned to thinking about their time they were going to spend together. After they finished, the two began to walk around the town at the places he had scoped out before meeting. They stopped at the bridge not far from the Guild and looked down at the water's reflection. Luna turned her head towards the sky and saw the brightest display of shining stars. It was so magnificent; she had never seen such beauty before.

"It's been so long since I last look up at the night's sky, I almost forgot how glorious it is." She said and Maximus turned up to the stars. "The skies tell of the Gods and Goddess' glory. I often wonder, whenever I look up, are there any worlds like ours hanging up there." She said to him and leaned up against him.

Maximus moved his left arm around her back and took hold of her shoulder. "You'd be surprised how many of them are like this one," He said and leaned down a little still keeping his gaze upon the stars. "In fact, you would be amazed to find out some of them are filled with life." He said pressing his cheek next to hers.

She became flattered with his talk about the stars above, she felt drawn to him a little more. The next moment he turned down to look her in the eyes.

"But the brightest stars in all the known cosmos radiates within you and rests upon your face." He said gliding his hand down her cheek.

She felt taken in by his words and thought they were impressive. "The way he uses his words is unlike most men here. The way he acts seems otherworldly at times. I wonder could you be from one of those worlds within the night's sky?" She said to herself.

The two began to lean towards each other and kissed. The sensation of their first kiss tingled through her mouth and into her head. Maximus felt the same passion go through him; it was the first time he was this close to someone in this manner since his last lover. After they released each other's lips the two breathed heavily and at the same time opened their eyes to look into them. After a few moments he motioned to her about moving on and she locked her arms around his.

The two slowly made their way to her place and she waited at the door for a moment. Maximus looked down upon her and wanted to lean in for one more kiss. Luna felt herself wanting to receive one more as well but held herself back.

"Well, I had a wonderful time tonight, thank you for taking me around town and spending time with you. I really appreciate it." She said.

"I am glad you enjoyed yourself." He paused for a moment. "I guess I will see you around tomorrow?" He inquired.

Luna nodded her head with an excited look wearing on her face. "I would like that a lot." She responded.

"Until then, I bid you a good night." Maximus said.

"Good night." She said and turned around to open the door and turned in for the night.

Maximus turned around and felt ashamed he had to lie to her at the beginning and he needed to close the night with cleaning his mess. He wondered around town until he was close to the Loaner's place of business. He noticed there was several guards posted around it and thought of a way to get in without being detected.

"Can't be helped they most likely have the place under tight security. I bet there is all manner of spells cast around it to prevent entry. Not to mention I doubt my Lurk Skill I acquired from Chris would work at all against magic. Only one way to find out." He said to himself.

He approached the building using the skill to scope all around it and saw the guards were everywhere.

"This is going to be hard, but here goes." Maximus said to himself.

He threw a rock at a nearby building's window and a loud crash sounded through the streets. Several of the guards went to explore the commotion and he noticed only a few were left behind. He used the skill once more and was able to enter the building easily. He was disappointed they didn't think to lock the doors and no detection spells were activated. Once inside he focused his Angelic Aura to clear the Demonic Aura out of the room, he had killed the three men. Once done he noticed the bodies were moved elsewhere.

"I'll give them credit for this, they definitely are slightly thorough. No telling where the bodies are now, I'll cross that bridge when we get to it one day. For now, I better get out of here before those guards return." He said to himself and returned to the stable using Lurk to remain undetected.

He noticed Aqua was fast asleep and wondered if she waited up long for him knowing how clingy she had become since Chris and Luna were showing interest in him. He turned in for the night and awaited for the next day to arise.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chris' Accidental Reveal & First Meeting with Verdia:**

The next morning, after training Kazuma, Maximus returned to the Guild once again to inquire about the few quests. One was asking for a Sword Master to help train a young boy within the town. He took hold of the paper and proceeded to the place where he needed to instruct the boy. The woman thanked him once it was over and he informed them he would return the next day shortly before noon. They agreed upon the boy's training would go for a whole week. He taught the young boy what he needed to know about swordplay, everything from how the wrist will tell when an attack was imminent to footwork and stances. In between training Kazuma and the boy he would frequent the Guild to visit Luna.

One night he was laying in the haystack after arriving back before Aqua or Kazuma had returned. He began to think to himself how boring it was and began to question if there really was a Demon King to battle against.

"I wonder what's this Demon King's deal, I defeated a Manticore the first night I arrived. Slayed a herd of Giant Toads and made quite a show during the Cabbage Harvest. I was certain after all of that he would at the very least send someone to investigate these achievements." He thought to himself and sighed from frustration.

He kept his gaze at the ceiling of the stables and relaxed a little more before closing his eyes. The next moment he heard someone walking into the stables. When he opened his eyes, he saw the same woman, who was visiting the stable last time, standing before him. She was looking down at him with a smile.

"You know, if you are going to lay around like that, you'll make it easy for anyone to sneak up on you." She informed him.

Maximus was surprised to see her and sat up with all haste with his gaze fixed upon her. Her skin was extremely fair and her hair was the color of silver.

"Do you mind if I join you, it looks like you could use the company." She inquired of him.

"Sure, I don't mind the company," He said and motioned his left arm with a welcoming gesture. "Have a seat, don't mind the haystack or its smell along with the stench of horses from the other stalls." He said with a half-smile feeling embarrassed. "Wait, what am I doing, I shouldn't have her stay in this filthy place. The manner in which she dresses makes it seem as though she shouldn't sit upon this so-called bedding, let alone be standing within these stalls at all." He said to himself panicking.

Eris noticed his panicked expression and she giggled a little. She sat down next to him and locked her arms around his.

"Who are you, I mean, what is your name, you seem to have a similar face as someone I know." He inquired.

"My name is Eris; I am one of the Goddess' who looks after this world." She introduced herself.

"My name is Maximus Matthews, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Lady Eris." He said.

She giggled a little. "You can call me Eris if you like, no need to make this a formal affair."

"So, why has one of the Goddess' of this world decided to visit me?" He inquired.

"Oh, I was feeling a little bored and since I had some time to spare, I decided to meet you. I should let you know that I know everything there is to know about you when you were first brought here by Lady Aqua." She said.

"Yeah, not very Goddess like to just take someone away from their world only to force them to choose another. Don't get me wrong, living in this world isn't so bad, it's just," Maximus paused for a moment beginning to feel his Demonic Rage build up within him. He could tell it was attempting to act out against her, as though warning him of danger. "Oh no, I need to be careful about this." He said to himself and began to curve the rage.

"You would have preferred it if she asked you to assist this world instead of forcing you." Eris finished his original thought before aiding him by managing his rage.

"Yeah," He said and paused for a moment.

He soon felt her holy aura seemingly causing half of his body to feel a slight stinging sensation that grew by the second. At the same time he felt his rage being calmed a little.

"Oh no, because of me being part demon and her being a Goddess, I feel as though our two auras are reacting in a negative way within me. I also feel as though my Angelic aura is keeping it from hitting me full force. Also did she give me some aid a moment ago?" He said to himself trying to show no pain at all and sweat began to drop down the side of his face. "I hope she isn't going through any pain at all, I would feel terrible if that were to happen." He finished his thought.

"Just as I suspected, as long as I am in my Goddess form, his body would react in a negative way and he is only one-third demon. I can tell it's not completely harming him, but it is causing him to feel discomfort." She said to herself and began to feel bad for making him endure the pain.

Maximus began to feel his head spin and became heavy and soon found himself passing out. Eris changed into her mortal form as Chris and placed his head upon her lap. She began to brush her hand through his golden hair and waited for him to wake up. The next moment she began to think a little about him.

"I wonder why he has no such reaction to Aqua whenever they are around each other?'" She wondered to herself. "It could be because of her adventurer level, compared to his, is far lower. So, I guess this system can place a certain cap on everyone no matter who or what they are. It also could be the reason for his discomfort in the mornings, it must take longer to affect him. And let's not forget he is part Demon, Human, and Angel, being a Human Nephilim and all must stave off the effects as well." She thought to herself.

She kept her gaze upon him a little more and soon notice he was waking up. His eyes slowly opened and he felt extremely fatigued and sore all over his body. His head felt as though it was expanding with every pulse flowing through his veins.

"Ah, my head really hurts, what happened to me?" He said out loud and quickly noticed he wasn't aching.

The next moment he felt the warm thighs of Chris' legs resting under his head. His vision soon focused and he saw Chris looking down at him with a smile.

"Oh good, you're awake." She said feeling relieved his condition was improving. "You know, you shouldn't leave yourself vulnerable like this or else someone might end up taking advantage of you while you're sleeping." She informed him still feeling a little concerned she had caused him to be in this state.

"Was I dreaming before she showed up," He thought to himself. "No, that was most certainly real. But why didn't I felt like that before when I last saw that woman. It could be because she was near me for a brief moment instead of a few minutes." He finished his thought.

Maximus kept his head where it laid, feeling it would bring more uncomfortable sensory overload if attempting to move.

"Chris said something similar to what Eris had spoken just prior to her being here. I wonder," He stopped his thought and took a closer look at Chris' face and soon noticed the scar on her right cheek wasn't present. "Wait, Chris, what happened to your scar?" He inquired placing his right hand on her cheek.

The next moment she felt his touch upon her face and smiled. "Let's keep this a secret between you and me, okay." She said and placed her hand on his forehead.

Afterward she used her powers to form the scar and kept her gaze upon him. Moments later Aqua arrived from the marketplace. In her hands was a large bowl of food she was able to bring back for dinner. She had thought it would be a good way to ask him for his forgiveness in taking him out of his world.

"Maximus, I'm home, how was your," She stopped after seeing Maximus' head laying on Chris' lap.

She instantly shot an angry stare towards Chris, who just responded with a smile as if to one up her in some way.

"What are you doing here and why is your head upon her lap?" Aqua shouted pointing at the two of them.

"I happened to be in the area and saw he wasn't feeling good, so I did the friendly thing and allow him to rest as he is now." Chris said smiling the entire time. "He may lay with you every other night, but by your reaction you two never have been in this particular situation before. I know what you are up to ever sense he had his impressive show the first day he was here. I meant what I said when the game is on." Chris said to herself.

"I don't see what the big deal is, it's not like the two of us are in some sort of relationship. Honestly, you're acting childish over something so trivial." He paused for a moment as a thought about another situation popped in his head. "I wonder if I could go find this General of the Demon King and see what's his deal. Maybe scare him off or something to get quests going again." He finished his thought.

Aqua slammed the bowl of food on the box that was sitting on the opposite side of the stall. Maximus turned to see her angry face puff up a little and stomped over to them.

"I don't know what makes you so special and how you seem to know me, even if you don't, but Maximus and I are party members and it should only be me whose taking care of him. After all, I do have to make him see that I am sorry for what I did to him." Aqua stopped for a moment and pointed at the opening of the stall.

Maximus was a little surprised she would use that excuse knowing she hadn't made too much of an attempt recently and in response to this he only prayed to her whenever she begged for his forgiveness.

"Now, if you don't mind, I believe it's time for you to go!" She shouted with her eyes closed and her head tilted upward.

Chris sat there not moving an inch and responded. "Oh, I don't know about that, I think I am going to stay with him tonight and show him how he should be taken care of." She smiled and started to giggle a little.

"Oh really, well as a Goddess, I forbid it completely." Aqua replied still in the same stance as before.

Maximus was beginning to be annoyed at the banter they were beginning to throw at each other. He was also surprised she would call herself a Goddess in front of anyone since no one has yet to believe her.

"Enough!" He shouted at the two of them before they could continue further. "This is getting out of hand with the two of you. If the both of you don't stop yelling at each other, I'll just go sleep outside." He said as he began to sit up.

Before he could both Aqua and Chris forced him to stay down.

"No, you won't." They shouted at him in unison and turned to stare at each other intensely.

"You will stay right there and eat this food which I was able to bring home for you." Aqua instructed.

"Not to mention you still need rest from what happened to you earlier." Chris said knowing it would drive Aqua crazy.

"What?" Aqua said wondering what she meant by it. "What did the two of you do?" She inquired further.

"Oh, nothing really important, that is if you count me and him together and alone, what do you think would happen." Chris said to tease Aqua.

The two went on and Maximus felt this night wasn't going to end well. After a long exchange of banter between the two of them and being spoon fed the leftovers, they all were finally able to agree to sleep together that night. Chris laid within Maximus right arm and Aqua in the other.

"To think I was going to find it hilarious about Aqua being stuck in this world. Now I've got to put up with this, how annoying. What was supposed to be me watching as Aqua freaks out from life itself has somehow backfired. But I couldn't just leave her there when we first arrived." He said to himself and sighed. "I guess this is something I may have to deal with from here on." He finished his thought.

He looked down at Aqua who was asleep like she normally is without any concern of what happened earlier. He saw Chris' expression on her face was peaceful, sleeping with such grace.

"To think these two were at each other's throats before we went to bed and now here, they are, so peaceful and quiet. I might as well get some sleep and not dwell too much on what happened earlier." He thought to himself and closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Kazuma had returned shortly after he went to bed and saw Maximus with the other two.

"Oh, come on, Chris has fallen for him too?" He said to himself almost spurting it out loud. "Then again it shouldn't have been a big surprise since the night after the Cabbage Harvest. Man, I was really liking her. I should have made an advance on her before now. But how could I, after acting like a silly fool of myself when I stole her panties." He sighed feeling a little depressed and went on to sleep the night away.

Upon the morning's first light Maximus saw that both Chris and Aqua were still sleeping within his arms. He saw how peaceful the two were resting away.

"The way they are now, it's almost as though last night never even happened. Oh boy, is this something I can come to expect from the two whenever they are near each other?" He wondered.

The day pressed on and Chris attended every obligation he had today. She was eyeing him in a way to study him a little further. During the sword training breaks with Kazuma and the boy she would bring him water. As Aqua worked harder through the day she felt as though she was losing ground against Chris. Kazuma and Megumin would go off somewhere and Maximus wouldn't question what was going on. He noticed as the days moved on the two wouldn't miss a chance to run off somewhere.

"I guess those two are becoming more of a couple, yet if they wanted to be discrete about it, wouldn't it make more sense to leave at different times instead of what they are doing." Maximus said barely over a whisper.

"What's that Maximus, what did you say again?" Chris inquired looking over at the door where Kazuma and Megumin exited the Guild. "Oh, I see, you're wondering if the two of them are seeing each other and why are they acting nonchalantly about it. Are you getting jealous of him?" She inquired with a teasing tone in her voice and winked at him with a smile.

He looked down at her noticing her expression and quickly protested. "What, no I would never be that way towards him. Nor do I have any kind of thoughts towards her other than she's just a party member, nothing more."

"I'm just teasing you." She giggled a little elbowing his side.

"Devilishly so, that's not becoming for a," He stopped to lean down by her head. "Goddess such as yourself." He whispered into her ear.

Don't you dare say that out loud!" She quickly shot back covering his mouth with her hands. "No one can know about that so long as I am in this form, got that." She whispered back to him after seeing everyone looking towards them.

Maximus thought it was hilarious. "I might just hang this over your head for a little while longer." He teased her.

"You wouldn't dare!" She said with a serious tone in her voice. She stopped for a moment and saw him smiling underneath her hands. "Hmph." She back away from him. "Well, even if you do, it's not like anyone would believe you anyway. Furthermore, it wouldn't be the most embarrassing thing about me if people found out if I were a Goddess." She said for a moment and began to feel a sense of insecurity.

Maximus noticed this feeling was wearing on her face. "And what, pray tell, might this now found enlightenment be that would make you so embarrassed?" He inquired in a teasing manner.

Chris looked back at him with her finger pointing at him. "I-I not telling you anything and if you try to pester me, I'll never speak to you again, got it." She said with a spark of fire in her eyes.

Maximus couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Maximus, I mean it." She protested.

"Okay, I promise, I won't pester you about it from now on." He smiled holding up his hands to try and calm her down.

Chris sat back down next to him and kept her distance from him not believing in his promise. He scooted over to wrap his arm around her shoulder and placed his hand on her chin to guide here gaze to him.

"I promise, I will not seek after this embarrassing knowledge of yours." He said with a sincere smile.

"I will hold you to that." She said smirking at him. "So, what should we do for the rest of the day?" She inquired.

"Well, before anything else I am starving." He said picking up the menu.

The next moment Luna approached the two of them and she felt a little worried.

"Uh Maximus," She nervously said to get his attention. "May I ask you something in private?"

"Sure," He nodded his head and approached her. "What seems to be your question you wish to ask?" He inquired.

"Well, I couldn't help but notice you and Chris were spending a lot of time together and," She stopped for a moment looking down at her hands twiddling her thumbs.

"Oh yeah, I'm not sure what to say honestly, it was just a spur of the moment kind of thing." Maximus said with a smile and scratched the back of his head. He opened his eyes and saw her mood was unchanged. "But that doesn't mean I have less feelings towards you, it's just that,"

The next moment Chris stepped to his side and placed her hand on his arm. "It's not uncommon for a man such as himself to ultimately have a Harem. There are old tales of male Heroes of the past to have multiple women be his wives. I'm sure he would have asked you about it at a future point in time; but might as well get it all out there now. Isn't that right Maximus?" She said to him and shot a quick wink and smile at Luna.

"Oh, I had never heard of a tale, it must be from an unfamiliar poem or something of the like." She said feeling surprised by this new information.

"Not sure I would have put it like that, but it's too late now." He said to himself.

"Well, I was going to add since it's nearly impossible to find someone who is well worth settling down with in this town, I am okay if it's you I am ultimately with." Luna said smiling at him.

"In that case, why don't we sit down for lunch." Maximus said and the other two agreed.

The three went on to finish their meals and back to the usual activity. After night approached, Kazuma was with a burnt out Megumin and Maximus approached the two.

"Where did the two of you go this afternoon that made your entire journey take until just moments ago to return?" Maximus inquired with no thought about what he saw previously during the day.

"Oh, Megumin and I walked far out to use her explosion magic on some castle. It's become an everyday routine now." Kazuma said feeling a little annoyed yet seeing some benefit from it.

"I noticed that, but don't you think you should check out to see if the castle is occupied or not before blowing it up?" Maximus inquired.

"Nah, I'm sure there is no one living within it," Kazuma paused for a moment as a disturbing thought brew in the back of his mind. "Wait, what if he's right and the castle wasn't abandoned. No, if it was occupied someone would have made a big hissy fit about us blowing it up every day."

"Well, ok, but if anything does transpire as a result of this, it will be completely on the two of you." Maximus informed them.

"Wait, how is that even fair? Don't you think the blame should be solely hers alone?" Kazuma protested.

"True, it is her magic that is to blame, however," Maximus paused for a moment folding his arms. "You were aiding her in this endeavor since its inception. I would have preferred it if you said the two of you were running off to spend time together since you made no effort to conceal it." He finished.

"Wait, that not what's happening," Kazuma shouted in embarrassment.

Megumin was laying against the table feeling the same embarrassment. Her face had turned red and she began to wonder about Kazuma a little more.

"I am fine if party members end up having any relations with one another, just so long as it doesn't hinder our performance during quests. That said, I do ask you keep a professional attitude when the two of you are with the rest of the party and I hope you hold the same expectation with me." He informed them and went on his way.

Maximus met up with Luna once more and had another outing with her that night. The two ended at her place and he waited for her to close the door. She found herself wanting him to come in but decided not to. Maximus walked back to the stables to find Aqua waiting for him. She had a disappointed look on her face.

"What took you so long to return?" She asked. "I was getting cold out here waiting for you."

"You could have just snuggled up in the haystack instead of waiting." He said walking past her, yawning. "If you want to know where I have been so badly, maybe trying to ask me for my forgiveness might get you the answer." He said to tease her knowing it would anger her further.

"Tsk, whatever, I'm not going to waste my time with that until you start praying to me again." She shot back at him thinking it would get him to bend.

"Hah, then I guess you will never know won't you." He chuckled.

"Huh, wait just a minute, that's not fair at all." She began to pout. "I want to know where it was you were earlier." She demanded. "If he says he was with that big chested harpy or that thieving little wench, I am going to scream." She said to herself feeling overwhelmingly angry.

"Just go to bed already, I'm tired, now goodnight." He responded and laid down on the makeshift bed.

Aqua grunted at him, feeling annoyed. She laid next to him with her back facing him. He sighed for a moment and went to sleep.

Hours later in the middle of the night, he felt the cold sting of the fall air beginning to creep in. He looked over and saw she was slightly shivering. She had both blankets on her and knew they had been not enough as they were light in thickness.

He sighed with frustration and took his coat off to place it on and tucked it under her. He then positioned himself against her back to ensure she wouldn't be cold anymore.

"There seems to be times where she has her charms and others where she has the mentality of a child. With that said, I still can't help myself from liking her a little at a time." He chuckled at his thoughts.

"Thank you, Maximus." She said genuinely placing her hand on his. "It's still a slow process, but I will make head way with him." She thought to herself and turned her head to face him.

The moment after she saw he was fast asleep and smiled a little and felt annoyed she didn't get a chance to say what she wanted.

"I'll say it anyway, even if you can't hear me. Maximus, I am sorry for what I did to you and hope you will forgive me one day." She said to him and returned to sleep the night away.

"That was your best attempt thus far, so I will consider the thought of forgiving you later." He responded.

She wanted to be angry but thought it would be a sour idea to ruin a great moment for the two.

"Oh, Goddess Aqua, may you continue to bless our journey with your light and shine the path to everlasting happiness." Maximus whispered into her ear.

"Well, it looks like we're back on track." She said to herself feeling excited from his first prayer in quite some time.

The next day they all met up at the Guild and Darkness quickly approached Maximus when she walked through the doors with Chris pacing behind her.

"Maximus, it has been too long since we last saw each other. Tell me, is there a quest we can undertake today?!" She shouted with her usual tone and stood close to his face.

Kazuma was feeling unsettled by her excited tone knowing how she would react if Maximus were to give her the response she wanted.

"You do realize it's only been two weeks since we last spoke. That's hardly enough time for me to even think about missing you." Maximus quickly replied.

Darkness closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around herself, and backed away with such exhilarating excitement. "Your words hit me like daggers piercing into my very soul with that response. So quickly and so harshly, please tell me off some more." She said wanting to be berated by him again.

"This behavior is unsettling; doesn't she see how others perceive her?" Maximus said to himself. "No, I will not indulge you further. Your state of excited bliss is very uncomfortable to watch, any longer and I think I may have to lock you up,"

"Yes, that's it, lock me up right now!" She shouted with joy.

"Oh no, I just set her off again." Maximus whispered out.

"Torture me in the most unimaginable and pornographic way you can muster. Oh, the shame of such an enduring task would be an exquisite experience!" She continued to shout.

"Oh man, Maximus, you really need to be careful of what you say to her." Kazuma said to himself with his jaw dropping and a shocked look on his face.

Maximus quickly took hold of her shoulders. "Look," He almost was on the verge of shouting to get her attention.

"Oh, yes, take control of me with your intense strong hands." She said as her excitement was boiling over.

"You're making it worse!" Kazuma shouted.

"That's enough of your talk!" Maximus said with a serious tone that somehow got her attention. "What kind of woman are you for enjoying being tortured to such a degree it causes you to quiver in some kind of ecstasy? This behavior is most unsettling and if you can't keep it in check, I will throw you out of this party faster than I accepted you. And you will be back on the streets, on your own, all alone with no one to torment you or anyone to call you friend. It's a wonder if you even have any to begin with." He shouted. "Wait, wouldn't she actually enjoy the thought and actual action of this. I probably set her off even more. Is there any way to get through to her?" He quickly thought to himself.

The next moment he noticed she was standing still, no longer having the same excited look as before. She was looking down a little, not facing him as tears began to fall down her face. The words that hit her the most brought back memories of her childhood without any friends up until she met Chris.

"You're right, I am sorry that my behavior has made you unsettled in such a way." She paused for a moment.

"There's no way any of that actually got to her." Kazuma and Maximus had the same thought go through their minds.

"If I have crossed the line in some way, I will atone for it now by leaving." She said and turned around to leave the Guild.

"Wait, Darkness," Chris shouted to get her attention but was met by the closing of the doors. She quickly turned around with a disappointed look on her face. "Now look what you have done Maximus."

"What I did was to get her attention, but not like that, and I didn't mean to go off on her in such a manner. I was just so annoyed with her behavior." He quickly said feeling horrible for lashing out at Darkness.

Chris walked up to him and took hold of his arm. "I understand she can be odd at times, but underneath her exterior is a kind and gentle soul. Just so you know, when she was a child, she didn't have any friends until she met me. You should go after her and apologize right now." She commanded him.

The next moment Maximus was out the doors and began to look for Darkness. After spending several minutes, he found her near the halfway point from the gate.

"Darkness wait, let's talk this out!" He shouted to get her attention. He stood in front of her and took hold of her shoulders once more. "I'm sorry for what I said back there, I didn't mean to take it that far and I didn't know about your situation when you were young. That being said I want to make it up to you in any way I can." He proclaimed to her.

"When I was very young my mother passed away and I only had my father around. During my youth I was also without any friends, possibly because my father spoiled me to no end. He kept me shielded for the outside world and that was the reason I didn't have any friends. So, I prayed to the Goddess Eris every day for a friend until I met Chris." She paused for a moment as tears began to fall down her face once more. "I also prayed that I would one day be accepted into a party that would take me in unconditionally."

She stopped to look up at him and grabbed his coat with both hands and began to lean towards him.

"The day you accepted me without knowing too much about me was a joyous occasion. I had finally found a party that was so generous to take me in. You were the one who made that possible. I was so thankful for your acceptance that I didn't want to show you how I truly felt in that moment." Darkness paused again and thought of what he said before continuing. "The moment after you said you were going to leave me alone, without any friends, I suddenly was reminded of my youth. Your words hit me the hardest today than anything or anyone else could have done." She stopped and began to cry.

"Darkness, I am sorry for what I said earlier," He paused for a moment. "It's just your extraordinary attitude towards being physically and mentally tormented is something that is not becoming of anyone. This quickly became annoying to me and I didn't mean to take it out on you. Will you forgive me?"

Darkness looked up at him seeing the sincere look upon his face. She saw he was genuinely sorry for what he had done. She leaned up towards him and they both placed their foreheads together.

"So, how did you like my performance just now, I think I did a most wonderous job of fooling even you." She began to laugh in a little sadistic manner.

"Wait what?" He said as he was confused from what had just transpired.

"Oh, I will accept your apology on one condition and that is," She stopped for a moment and Maximus was listening intently. "Continue to berate me in such a harsh manner and never stop tormenting me in any way you see fit! Show me no mercy as you gaze upon my body with lustful feelings and thoughts!" She shouted.

"Emergency, emergency," Luna's voice began to echo across the town. "We need all available adventurers to assemble at the Front Gates immediately."

"I wonder what could be going on that would have her sound truly scared." Maximus said a loud.

"I do not know, but we should head over there at once." Darkness said and she saw her hands were still holding his coat. "Am I falling for him as well?" She wondered to herself.

He turned to the gate and the two of them dashed to it with all haste. When they arrived, they stood at the head of everyone else and noticed standing on a large rock was a knight clad in dark armor. The steed he was sitting upon was without a head and after Maximus took a closer look, he saw no head was visible on the shoulders of the mysterious figure. Aqua and Kazuma stood next to him. Chris had arrived shortly after them and began to lock arms with Maximus.

"What is that?" Chris inquired feeling a little scared.

"I'm not so sure, but whatever it is, it's most certainly not friendly looking." Maximus replied.

"No kidding it doesn't look friendly and that's because it looks like something out of a nightmare!" Kazuma shouted with a little fear, stepping back to hide a little behind Maximus.

"My name is Verdia," The Headless Knight introduced himself. "And I have been stationed of late in a nearby castle." He raised his hand pointing at the large group. "I am here for the one who has been blowing up my castle every day for the past two weeks. And I demand to know who that is!" Verdia shouted in anger and annoyance.

Kazuma nervously gulped and looked at everyone in the party. "We're so doomed right now aren't we."

Maximus and everyone else kept there gaze upon Verdia, seeing the red glow of his eye fixated upon them. Everyone within the whole group was wondering what was going to become of this day.


	10. Chapter 10

**Battle with Verdia & Brief Encounter with Wiz:**

Everyone stood there feeling the intense anger emanating from Verdia. Maximus began to wonder about the situation and before he could think too much Verdia began to shout more.

"Everyday one of you maniacs keeps hurling Explosion spells at my castle! If you know who I am and wish to pick a fight, then have the courtesy to announce yourself so a proper duel can commence! Now tell me, who among you was doing this all this time!" Verdia shouted.

"Who do we know here that constantly uses Explosion?" One of the adventurers said out loud as though to suggest an obvious person.

Everyone turned towards Megumin and she began panic as their eyes were locked onto her. She began to sweat a little and soon noticed another mage to her left. She turned to eye the other mage some distance from her. Everyone turned to look at the other mage she was looking at who took notice everyone was looking at her and began to panic.

Maximus had kept his gaze upon Megumin feeling annoyed she would attempt to get out of this. She looked up to see his disappointed gaze fixed on her that soon grew to anger.

"I can't believe you would actually consider not taking responsibility for your actions." Maximus briefly said to her.

Megumin began to feel ashamed and nervous from what Verdia might do to her.

"Well, as party leader and since she doesn't wish to take any responsibility," Maximus was thinking to himself and paused as he began to walk toward Verdia. "I will go in her stead." He finished his thought.

Everyone was surprised to see him walk forward and some whispered amongst themselves who would win.

"Wait, Maximus, don't go." Chris said feeling a little concerned for him.

He turned around and gave her a thumbs up and smirked.

"Looks like someone is brave enough after all." Verdia said to himself as he studied Maximus closely.

"Can't be helped when I say I have no idea if I'm ready for this or not, however, this encounter was bound to happen eventually." Maximus paused his thoughts as he got closer to Verdia. "Time to see how I measure up against one of the Demon King's Generals or should I see about negotiating with him first." He wondered to himself.

Maximus stood a few feet in front of Verdia and waited.

"So, it was you!" He shouted in anger that was swelling within him. He took several moments to catch his breath. "If you know who I am and wish to pick a fight then have the common courtesy to announce yourself so a proper duel can commence." Verdia said with surprising calm. "Could he be the so-called light I was sent to investigate?" Verdia wondered to himself.

"The way he acts and dresses himself makes me believe he was a knight of some sort. I wonder if diplomacy can be achieved. However, that's not what I came here for, I was under the impression this world was suffering under the threat of this Demon King and I have yet to see any evidence of it. Even now with this fellow here, I somehow get this strange feeling he doesn't wish to fight at the moment." Maximus said to himself.

The two stood there in silence, both measuring the other closely.

"Yes, it was I who was bombarding your castle." Maximus finally answered. "Let us see if he can be reasoned with, just to test the waters sort a speak, see how this world's villains conduct themselves. If it doesn't work, our battle will commence." He said to himself. "No, I did not know of your presence but I should have checked to be sure. You see I only wish to test out my new spell I learned from a fellow comrade. I do deeply apologize for disturbing your everyday activities with my spell and would wish to see about any reprimands you will have me do in order to make up for these acts. The only thing I do wish is for you to not take your rage out on this town." He said kneeling on the ground.

Everyone was shocked at the site and wondered what he was doing.

"I see, so you were completely unaware of my presence. Very well, I see you hold yourself in some high regard." Verdia stopped for a moment. "I wonder if I should eliminate him, since he has the chance of being this light my master had informed me about." He said to himself and began to lift his finger. "I have decided a befitting punishment for you," He paused.

"I wonder what it is he will ask of me?" Maximus wondered to himself.

"For vandalizing my castle, I sentence thee to death." He proclaimed to him and loud enough for all to hear.

"Wait, that's a little excessive don't you think?" Aqua said worrying for Maximus.

"Seriously?!" Maximus said to himself. "I knew he would want to give me some form of punishment, but not this!"

"As a former knight, killing the weak was beneath me, nor did it appeal to me, but now I think I might enjoy this." He stopped as dark aura surrounded him and his red eye glowed. "In exactly one day, you will die." He proclaimed.

"Not if I finish my prayer first!" Aqua shouted after rushing up to stand at Maximus' side.

"No, what are you doing?" Maximus inquired.

"It's too late, now Death Premonition." He said and a malevolent dark shroud barreled towards Maximus.

Before he could move, he saw a golden yellow and black figure run past and stood in front of him. The next moment the shroud quickly latched onto Darkness. She began to scream in pain as though she were being ripped apart and a skull formed around her acting as though it were chewing her.

"No, Darkness!" Maximus shouted.

"I'm sorry, but this was the only way I could repay you from before." She struggled to say, writhing in pain.

"Somehow, I rather doubt that." Maximus said feeling annoyed and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You should have known I wasn't going to take a death sentence so easily" He finished.

"I am sorry, but as a knight I cannot stand idly by and watch my comrade come to harm." Darkness explained. "Besides, for one such as you, I cannot imagine the idea of not being tormented by you anymore." She said to herself. "As for you, I take it in order to release me from this Death Curse I would have to submit to your every whim!" She shouted.

Verdia began to laugh uncontrollably for a few moments. "Yes, in order for her to be released you will have to defeat me!" He shouted and finally her words caught up to him. "Wait, what?"

"You fiend, you have chained this diabolical death curse onto this knight, chaining me down in such a manner therefore I must submit to your every demand." She shouted with uncontained excitement.

Maximus grunted in annoyance and found his hand flying to slap her across her face. "Will you get it together, you're going to die in one day, unless we do something about it right here and now!" Maximus shouted to get her attention.

The next moment Maximus quickly realized what he did and began to feel horrible for allowing himself to let his hand fly. Darkness felt a little confused as she was feeling joy from his unforeseen slap and feeling the heavy pain from the curse placed by Verdia.

"Oh no, what have I done." Maximus said to himself seeing the overjoyed look on her face.

"Oh no, she's dipping into her masochist side of herself after your slap." Kazuma said out loud and no one seemed to notice what he said.

Aqua was surprised to see his actions. "Ah, I can't believe you would hit your own teammate like that."

"Oh, shut up, it was the only way to get her attention!" Maximus snapped back at her and she flinched a little from his annoyed angry voice.

Darkness began to hug herself tightly feeling a powerful rush of excitement flow through her. "Your so cruel, you would even strike one of your own teammates without hesitation! This is one thing I never would have thought to experience and now, I wish for you to indulge on this act of betrayal even more." She shouted with tears of joy escaping her eyes.

"Oh God, what have I done?" Maximus said to himself feeling a little embarrassed and ashamed of his action towards her.

"Oh Maximus, what shall I do?" She inquired of him wearing an unsettling smile on her face.

"What do you mean?" Maximus quickly shot back.

"Should I go with that degenerate and be made a puppet, a sex slave, one who would make me have no choice but to succumb to his will. I can see his hungry eyes lusting upon me, beckoning me to follow him back to his castle and into his bed chamber where he will defile me further." She shouted with uncontrollable joy filling to the brim.

She stood there panting with further excitement as another thought appeared in her mind.

"Or shall I return to your clutches where I would be forced to endure your betraying hands thrusting upon me, groping me in an attempt to dominate my soul. Oh, the agony of experiencing your betrayal firsthand. The mere thought of feeling it thrust upon me day after day, knowing it's from an ally and not a foe. Oh yes, I can feel your hungry eyes as well, undressing me by the second. You have wished to defile me ever since we first met, haven't you!" She shouted.

"What are you going on about?" Maximus said backing away in order to avoid touching her as if she was a diseased individual.

"Oh, Maximus, what should I do?" She inquired.

"How should I know." He replied containing his anger and annoyance.

"Uh, anyway," Verdia said to get their attention. "This may not have been the preferred outcome but may prove to be most entertaining." He said as he began to laugh.

He turned his headless horse around and began to walk away.

"By the way, no more blowing up my castle, understand. Also, if you wish to save your crusader's life, then make your way to my castle where we can finish this. If you can kill me, then your friend's life will be spared as the curse will be removed upon my death." He informed them.

"That's all I needed to hear." Maximus said out loud.

The next moment he quickly took hold of his sword and charged forth towards his enemy. Swinging his sword down with all of his might he aimed to eliminate Verdia in one strike. Instantly Verdia sensed his movement and with a surprised look in his eyes, he saw Maximus barreling towards him. Both of their swords made impact and began to struggle against each other. The small shockwave blew the loose dirt from the ground away from them and a powerful thunderous crack echoed through the area.

"You would dare attack someone while their back is turned. I'll make you regret that you little worm!" Verdia shouted.

The next moment he summoned his aura and pushed Maximus away from him. He quickly back flipped and landed on his feet, which dragged across the dirt road a few yards. He readied himself for another round and quickly noticed his sword was beginning to rust and break apart.

"Cheaply made, yet expensive, that blacksmith is going to pay me big time for this." Maximus said to himself, gazing upon the sword and glanced back at the main group before the gates.

"What kind of insolent cur are you, who would throw away his honor in an attempt to win a duel in that fashion?" Verdia snapped at him.

Maximus spat in Verdia's direction feeling annoyed. "There is no such thing as honor when it comes to fighting your opponent. Where I'm from, it's win at all cost no matter who you are fighting. Whether it be a lord of the land or a common man, employ everything at your disposal and destroy your enemy when you see the chance."

"But how are you to continue this fight without a weapon?" Verdia inquired as he concentrated his aura into his sword.

"Maximus, take my sword." Darkness said tossing her sword to him.

While it was in midair, he instantly took hold of it and charged after Verdia once more. The two swung their swords towards one another. The next second Maximus appeared behind Verdia, standing six yards away from him. The next moment the sound of several dozens of metallic clashes echoed. The two stood still for a few moments waiting for the other to make a move. Both of their backs facing each other until the next instant Verdia fell from his horse.

Everyone was surprised to see him fall to the ground. Maximus fell to his knee feeling the sting of Verdia's sword. It had barely cut him across his chest, his right arm, and upon his left knee. He could feel the tearing sensation of his ligament being severed and found it extremely difficult to stand.

"Oh no, Maximus." Both Aqua and Darkness shouted at the same time.

Verdia slowly got to his feet feeling the stinging sensation of Maximus' blows across his body. He turned around and crutched upon his sword. His armor had suffered severe damage with indentions and cracks webbing out, as well as slash marks spread throughout his chest.

Maximus used his sword to crutch himself up from the ground and slowly turned around. He eyed his opponent with a defiant look in his eye and took a quick look at his wounds. He struggled to rent his coat and his wounds on his arm and knee after. Once he was finished, he readied himself for another bout.

"That brief exchange was intense and very impressive for one who was only using one arm to wield his sword. I get the feeling if he had used both arms, I would be a dead man." Maximus said to himself.

The next moment he grunted in pain from the wound upon his chest.

"I am not sure how I am going to continue this fight with only one capable arm. Sure, my right arm is ok and luckily missed my artery, however, he strategically or accidently, severed one of my tendons near my wrist. This is keeping me from using my thumb and will prove most difficult from here on." Maximus said to himself.

"That was the most intense exchange I have had in a long while. I am most grateful I have met you. Tell me," Verdia paused pointing at Maximus. "What is your name so I will remember it for the rest of my days?" He inquired.

Maximus limped up, standing with all of his weight on his right leg.

"My name is Maximus, commit it to memory as I end your existence here." Maximus said. "Who am I kidding, I can't even stand properly much less fight on from here. This is quite the predicament I am in; I wonder how I am going to get out of this one." He said to himself.

"You have proven to be a most entertaining opponent. Now, prepare to die." Verdia said.

He began to walk up to Maximus with his gaze fixed on him.

"That's a two-handed sword he has there and with only one capable arm, he will be no threat to me." Verdia said to himself.

Once he was a few feet away from Maximus, he threw his head up high into the air, his head looked down and a red aura extended out. His red eye glowed brighter and all around him had a crimson color shining out. He took hold of his sword with both hands and swung down upon him.

Maximus quickly focused his aura to enhance his abilities for a brief moment and they both clashed swords once more. He summoned all the strength he could muster into his left arm, feeling the awkwardness of its use. He was more accustom to his right arm than the other, but knew he had to train both arms in his previous life on Lorin.

"You're still willing to fight on despite only able to use one arm!" Verdia said feeling surprised.

"Of course, that's what being human means," Maximus paused as he struggled to hold Verdia back. "To be defiant in the face of true hardship, to stand tall and roar against the woes of misery. Something you have obviously forgotten, and now it's time for me to use my trump card." Maximus said with a grin.

Verdia wondered what he meant by that and before he could inquire Maximus roared aloud.

The next moment a full golden-colored circle quickly appeared in front of Maximus. Verdia quickly backed away feeling the sting of holy aura. His head landed within his arm and stood to watch the light move over Maximus.

After the circle formed, it began to move over Maximus. As the ring passed over him, his body began to change into a different form. His pupils turned into a silver color, and the whites of his eyes darkened like sapphires. Around them, a crimson glow extended outwards like a raging fire.

A large oval-shaped crimson diamond appeared over the middle of his chest where his heart was. Over each of his knuckles, elbows, and knees round-shaped sapphire-colored diamonds formed. His long gold braided hair turned to silver, and new skin appeared as the color of sapphire. Most of his body was clad in armor as white as snow forming over his skin and around each of the colored diamonds.

A solid mass formed to engulf his head until it shaped like a helmet fashioned after an ancient knight. A pair of snow-white feathered wings formed out of his back extending a foot over his head with the tips reaching the ground. He made them flap forward and back to a resting position as a gush of strong winds blew forth with the ferocity of a fierce windstorm. His whole body seemed to have features that matched an angel's likeness.

Verdia began to quake amidst the awesome might of Maximus' power. He gazed upon him and saw his previous wounds were not visible and took another step back. Everyone that stood before the gate were in awe of his new form.

"Look, it's an angel that's ready for battle." One of the women within the crowd said with her eyes glued to Maximus.

"I knew he was a great choice to bring over to this world." Aqua barely mumbled out.

Darkness was astonished by the sight and felt herself drawn towards him even more.

"To think this is one of two forms he is capable of employing, one where he is in a peaceful state of mind and not overcome with rage. He could very well be the light that shines in the darkness upon this world. I must win him over, at least before Aqua does." Chris said to herself knowing full well what he was capable of.

Kazuma was frozen in place, his eyes beheld something he never thought he would see. "No way, a real-life Battle Angel is standing not far from me. This reminds me of some character from a video game or something. No wonder he's so awesome," He paused for a moment. "And at the same time, it's totally not fair." He began to cry a little out of jealousy.

Verdia's fear began to mount even more than before. "What is this, how are you able to do that and I thought all of the God's were to maintain a noninterference pact with the humans of this world!" Verdia struggled to say. "Hey, this isn't fair, it's illegal it must be illegal. No one is able to employ a transformation technique!" He shouted feeling the unavoidable end approaching.

Maximus held out his left hand and at the palm of it a holy power began to form into a ball of light. He raised his right hand and quickly balled up his fist. The next moment chains of steel sprung forth out of the ground and held Verdia in place.

"For causing harm upon my comrade and to ensure no one else comes to harm by your hand, you shall pay the ultimate price!" Maximus shouted to him.

The ball of holy light reached its peak and began to form into his hand.

"Fist of Holy Light!" He roared.

The holy light shot forth towards Verdia and engulfed him completely. He began to scream with intense pain as his body was slowly being turned to ash. "No, this wasn't how it was supposed to end, I was going,"

The next moment his body completely destroyed and the light dissipated. Everyone had begun to look out after shielding their eyes and saw they were not harmed by the ray. The attack had stopped before reaching them.

Darkness had an overjoyed look on her face as she had quickly rushed over to be hit by the ray. But to her disappointment she only felt the stinging relief brought on by the purifying sensation of being lifted from the death curse.

"Was that pain of the curse being lifted from Verdia's defeat or from Maximus' attack." She stopped to recollect herself. "I must know this right now!" She shouted and approached Maximus.

The next moment she heard the stomping stampede of adventurers running towards Maximus to congratulate him on his victory.

"Wait, do not get in front of me, I must know!" She shouted.

Before they could get too close to him, the same circle appeared before and moved over him. After it was done, he was back in his normal form, completely healed of his wounds. Everyone walked up to him and began cheering his name.

Aqua began to use her Nature's Beauty as a way to celebrate. Chris latched onto his right arm and looked up at him. Once he turned to her she gave him a wink and a smile.

"You were amazing Maximus." She said with a cheerful tone.

He simply smiled back at her and Aqua took notice of her being too close to him and began to complain.

The next moment Mohawk approached him and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "Let's hear it for Maximus, the Battle Angel who will defeat the Demon King!" He shouted and everyone cheered once more.

"Let's go celebrate in the Guild Hall!" One man shouted.

"I second that motion." Another followed.

"Hey," Maximus shouted to get everyone attention. "Drinks are on me tonight!"

Everyone cheered for the idea and all began to make their way to the Guild Hall with Maximus at the front. All the townsfolk went to the streets after hearing the big news. As Maximus walked by towards their destination, they all began to throw confetti and danced in the streets. Aqua and Chris were latched onto his arms with Darkness close behind with the same obsessed smile, wondering what the result of her condition was being released from the death curse and wanting to experience it again.

The Guild Hall was alive, more so than ever before, as the party continued into the night. Maximus was sitting down at one of the tables with Aqua, Chris, and Darkness huddled around him. Megumin was sitting across the table with Kazuma at her side.

"I feel as though I have been cheated in some way." She said looking down at her food.

"Huh, how come?" Kazuma inquired.

"I don't know how to put it, but I feel as though things aren't really going as they should be." She said poking at her piece of steak.

"Wait, does she totally get how I feel at this moment?" He wondered to himself.

"Oh well, I was really hoping I could have at least got in a shot at that Verdia guy." She said and took a bite of her food.

Kazuma sat there feeling depressed from Maximus' triumphant day and witnessing everyone cheer for him along with few of the girls being so close to him.

"God Damn it, this sucks!" He slammed his hands on the table.

"Huh, what's the matter Kazuma?" Maximus inquired.

"What's wrong is I have yet to set foot on my new kickass adventurer's life and it's all your fault!" He shouted pointing his finger at him.

"How is this all my fault, if anything, what's wrong with your life is entirely of your own making." Maximus shot back.

"How do you figure?" Kazuma quickly inquired.

"Well, for one quick explanation before I get back to the celebration, you were going too slow on picking a single item of skill to take with you in this life." Maximus said taking a bite of his food.

The others began to listen closely and Aqua began to remember when Kazuma first appeared before her.

"I was trying, but this useless Goddess wouldn't wait for me to properly choose what I wanted!" Kazuma snapped back with anger in his voice after pointing at Aqua.

"Hold on, what do you mean by Goddess?" Darkness inquired feeling confused.

Kazuma panicked for a moment and Aqua was feeling the same and slowly put her drink down on the table.

"Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later." She said standing up. "I am the Goddess Aqua, worshiped by the noble Axis Sect."

"You should not drink too much." Both Darkness and Megumin said at the same time not believing her.

"Hey, I am not drunk okay." She snapped at the two of them.

"Well, that crisis is averted for now. Poor Aqua, I feel as though no one will ever believe her status at all." Maximus said with a small grin.

Chris chuckled a little. "That was too funny."

Aqua felt annoyed and began to eat her meal as did the others.

Later that night Maximus was walking around town after a brief meeting with Luna and escorted her home once more. The two said their goodnights and she felt down for not being able to talk to him at the celebration earlier.

Soon after Maximus turned the corner to head out towards the stables when a woman called out to him.

"So, you're Maximus, the one who defeated Verdia earlier today." A woman said standing only a few feet away.

Maximus turned around and noticed the woman standing in the moonlight. She had brown hair that reached down past her shoulder and brown eyes that never looked away from him. She wore a purple dress underneath a purple robe. Her clothing was tightly wrapped around her, showcasing her well-endowed chest and the rest of her curvaceous figure.

"Y-y-yeah, that's me." Maximus said feeling a little nervous seeing her. The next moment he dashed towards her and took hold of her hands. "I wish to know your name." He said almost shouting.

She felt a little nervous from him quickly lunging towards her.

"Uh, sorry about jumping at you, it's just you are so beautiful, I mean, you're great looking, I mean," He stopped for a moment wondering why he was acting in this manner, scratching the back of his head and coughed a little. "What might your name be fair maiden?" He inquired.

"It's Wiz." She smiled tilting her head to the side, closing her eyes and smiled. "The way he was acting just now, makes you think he couldn't possibly defeat Verdia." She said to herself.

"Wiz eh," He paused for a moment. "I don't think I have noticed you before."

"Oh, that's because I just barely set up a shop in this town earlier today. I also saw a little of your battle against Verdia and wanted to congratulate you but was unable to." She said feeling a little panic for no reason. "There's no reason for him to suspect me of being a former member of the Demon King's Generals. I wonder if I reacted that way was because of all the rumors I heard about him. His kindness most of all."

"Hmm, I wonder if I should pay you a visit sometime, maybe even tomorrow. So, long as that's alright with you?" He said to her.

"Oh, that would be perfect, you will be my first customer." She said with excitement in her voice.

"Well, until then, I shall see you later." He said with a smile.

She responded with her own smile and they began to go their separate ways. She was beginning to feel jittery and he was feeling a little relief from being embarrassed in the way he was acting toward her. The next moment he began to remember how cold her hands were and wondered what the cause could be. She felt renewed in a small way after their encounter.

"I can't wait to see him again, just the way he was holding my hands, it seemed he didn't notice the cold feeling right away." She paused for a moment from her thoughts. "It's been a long time since I last felt this way, can this be real?" She wondered with a hint of excitement and began to make her way to the town's graveyard.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Reward & Wiz' Shop:**

Maximus awoke the next morning feeling stiff and noticed Aqua laying on top of him. Her legs were sprawled out and one of them was once again wrapped around one of his legs. He wanted to move, but at the same time he didn't want to wake her up. Feeling the warmth of her body against his was comforting and he couldn't help but think about her.

"To think she is peaceful when sleeping, however once she wakes the helpless side of her kicks in and she's begging for help no matter what. Wait a minute, shouldn't she be going to work right about now." He thought.

He raised his right hand and lightly tapped her head. "Hey, it's morning, don't you have work to go to?"

She briefly turned her head to the other side. "No, I quit, I don't want to go to work. I just want to stay right here and have you all to myself today." She replied slightly smiling.

"What's going on with you all of a sudden, why did you quit your job?" He inquired.

She slowly raised herself up and rubbed her eye. "I thought it would have been obvious, I want you to give me a child so it will save this world and bring me more followers. Then I can bathe in money." She said with fatigue in her voice.

Maximus laid there knowing part of the reason why she wanted him, but never knew about the rest.

"You do realize the folly in that right?" He inquired.

"What do you mean." She shot back with her tired gaze.

"Well, for starters, our child would get all the praise and worship instead of you." He briefly explained.

"No, once they find out who that child's mother is, they will," She stopped for a moment as their conversation finally registered in her mind and she began to blush. She was feeling embarrassed after accidently admitting why she wanted his child. "I-I-I-I mean that's not the reason why I want to have your child. It's mainly because,"

"Aqua," He said to get her attention. "I'm flattered, I really am, however," He paused for a moment looking to the side at the stalls they were within.

Aqua began to have tears forming in her eyes and soon began to cry uncontrollably. She buried her face upon his chest and he laid there unsure of what to do.

She raised herself up once more and took a hold of his black shirt. "What's wrong with you, is my body not good enough? I am a Goddess after all with a beautiful alluring physique that will always be ripe for you to take. You should be wanting to do more than just sleep with me, you should be,"

"Aqua, that's not it," He snapped at her and took hold of her arms. "I would think you want to do that kind of deed in the comfort of a bed instead of a haystack." He finished looking to the side.

"So, you do want me then?" She inquired sniffling her noise.

"I just think it would be more comfortable in a bed than some unforgiving haystack. I haven't had a goodnight sleep ever since we started sleeping here. Not to mention it would be more private in a bedroom than a stall where someone could walk in on us." He said sitting up and embraced her.

She sat there unsure of what to do and began to feel happy and tears of joy were escaping her eyes.

"Okay then," She paused for a moment standing up as though nothing had happened. "Let's go find us a house." She said with a cheerful tone.

"That would be nice, but unfortunately there still isn't anything available." He said standing up and massaged the back of his neck.

"Well, I don't mind terribly if we do the deed here on this haystack right now. You know, humble beginnings and all." She said pulling down her shirt to tease him.

"As tempting as it sounds, we have to report to the Guild. Luna said they were going to present us with something." He said tiding himself up and put his coat on.

"I hope it's a house and maybe then he and I could," She stopped to notice he was moving out of the stall. "H-hey, wait for me!" She shouted.

"Well, get dressed so we can see what the reward is." He shot back.

Maximus went into the next stall and noticed Kazuma wasn't within. He figured he went to town a little early and turned around to see Aqua ready to go. She smiled as she took hold of his arm and the two walked to Axel.

After arriving through the doors Luna happened to be waiting for him near the board. Everyone cheered and congratulated him once more. He responded to them all and soon noticed Luna standing with a card in hand. The two started to approach one another and Aqua was still holding onto him.

"Maximus, now that you are here, I can go ahead and award you with this." She handed him the card. "For your victory over the Demon King's General Verdia, I award you three hundred million Eris, congratulations!" She finished in a cheerful manner.

"Hold up, party meeting time!" Kazuma shouted seemingly out of nowhere.

Maximus turned to look at him with an annoyed look wondering what he could want. The whole party was encircled around one of the tables. Chris had walked into the Guild and noticed Maximus next to Luna. The two were staring at the rest of the party and she immediately latched onto his left arm.

"Hello Maximus, it's good to see you again." She said with a smile.

"Huh, oh, hello Chris, how's your morning going so far?" He inquired.

"Great now that I am with you." She giggled and stood next to him.

Maximus smiled at her and turned back to the others. Luna took hold of his other arm and looked up at him. She was about to say something but decided to wait.

"Now, that he's rich, he will more than likely want to settle down. This would be my chance to see about being with him more." She said to herself and decided to stay silent.

The others had yet to notice both Maximus and Chris weren't in the meeting.

"Do they realize you are not there?" Chris inquired.

"Let it sink in, they'll realize it soon." He said and turned to Luna. "I thank you for this reward the Guild is presenting me."

Luna smiled and kept silent. She leaned a little more on him and looked over to the others.

"Now that we are all here, I am announcing my retirement." Kazuma proclaimed.

"I say we should split it 90-10 all of it should go to me." Aqua declared.

"No, we should have equal share evenly." Megumin ordered.

"No, we split it equally all according to everyone's performance, right Maximus?" Darkness said and finally noticed he was still next to Luna. "Wait, I thought we were having a meeting about splitting the reward?" She inquired.

"If we had all participated it would be a fair split, but since only two of us truly stepped into the battle after him and it was awarded to him alone, he should deal it out as he sees fit. Right Maximus?" Chris said squeezing down upon his arm.

"I think it's only fair to do it that way, since only two of you came to my aid while the rest of you did nothing, though I don't blame you for not stepping in. Who knows what might have become any of you?" He said feeling a little sense of concern for them.

"Any way, since I was contributing to a large part of the battle, I should get the most of it." Aqua said with an innocent yet stuck up tone.

"Seriously, despite you jumping in, you still did nothing, just for that you will get something, but not a whole lot." He shot back and Aqua became depressed. "Darkness, because you shielded me from the curse, I will award you a happy sum. How does one third of the amount sound to you?"

Darkness gasp with amazement and shock. "Th-that is more than enough."

"Aqua, your part will be to pay me off and from this point on I will give you a certain amount of allowance every month. Knowing how much you waste money on the wine in this town, I think it's more appropriate I keep an eye on you and your money. So, we'll combine our finances from here on." He informed her.

"Oh, okay." She said with annoyance and wanted to protest it but knew it would be fruitless.

"The rest of you, I am afraid I cannot award anything." He informed them.

"That's alright Maximus, as long as I stay with you, I believe I will be alright." Chris said leaning against him a little more.

"Hold on, that's not fair at all!" Kazuma protested. "We're a party after all,"

"I have made my decision and it is final!" Maximus snapped back raising his voice. "If you had tried to step in the battle, you would have gotten a share equal to your own performance and nothing else. Equal shares don't work out in this case, now get over it. However, I am willing to give you some, so long as you make a loan with me. Otherwise, be about your business." He said turning around and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Darkness inquired.

"There's a new shop in town and I was wanting to check it out. You're more than welcome to tag along if you wish." He responded. "Oh, Luna, I was wondering if you would like to go on another outing with me sometime?" He turned to Luna.

"Uh, sure, I would love that." She said with a smile on her face. "Another step closer to being with him forever." She said to herself.

"I'll come back later to discuss the details, until then, I want to check out this new shop." He said waving and she waved back.

Aqua, Chris, and Darkness tagged along to see about this new shop. After entering he noticed Wiz was nowhere in sight.

"Oh, welcome to my shop. Please feel free to browse and if you see something you like, go ahead and pick it up." She informed them. The next moment she noticed Maximus was standing at the door as the others began to browse the selection. "Oh, Maximus, it's good to see you again." She said feeling excited to see him.

"Likewise," He paused and gave her a smile.

"Hey," Aqua shouted grabbing hold of the belt strap of Wiz' robe. "What's the big idea you big titty bimbo, how do you two know each other already and when did you two meet?" She ordered Wiz in anger.

"I-I'm sorry, who are you to him?" Wiz inquired trying not to retaliate.

Aqua let Wiz go and she fell to the floor feeling dizzy. Maximus instantly caught her and held her in his arms.

"Well, if you must know, I am the Goddess Aqua, worshiped by the noble Axis Sect." She declared to her.

"You should not drink anymore." Both Chris and Darkness said in unison.

"I haven't had anything yet!" Aqua protested.

Wiz began to have a sense of fear come over her and she began to take hold of Maximus' coat. "Wait, you're the Lady Aqua."

"Is she that popular?" Maximus inquired.

"At least among her followers, who are said to be wildly unruly and crazy people." She explained.

Aqua turned around and saw Wiz in Maximus' arms. "What are you doing being held by him?!" She shouted and started to run towards them with her hands reaching out in a harmful manner.

"Aqua!" Maximus shouted at her and she instantly stopped. "Behave yourself or I am throwing you outside to sleep on the cold hard grass tonight instead of the haystack." He ordered her. "Not that it will make a difference either way, but at least she can try to behave." He said to himself becoming frustrated.

"No, anything but that, I swear I will be on my best behavior from now on!" She said frantically.

"Now, how are you feeling?" He inquired setting Wiz down upon the counter.

"Much better than a few moments ago." She said feeling a little nervous.

"That's good to hear." He said and turned around.

"Now's my chance." Chris said to herself and jumped into Maximus' arms who quickly caught her. "Oh, my Maximus, it's a good thing you caught me since I slipped and lost my balance."

Aqua became more infuriated after Chris made her move. "You didn't trip over yourself, you just jumped right into his arms on purpose!" She shouted and Chris briefly smirked and stuck her tongue at her.

"Would you like to be held in my arms then?" Maximus inquired.

Aqua stood there with her eyes watering up as she remembered the last time she was in his arms. "Yes, please would you allow me this right now?" She asked.

"No." He quickly replied.

Darkness gasped in jealousy. "Oh, the feeling of being rejected by him after asking to be comforted. I must experience this torment right now." Darkness sprinted over to him and he noticed her loud clanking armor barreling down at him.

"And here she comes, right on cue." Maximus said to himself.

"Maximus, I-I-I-I wish to be held within your arms at this moment!" She said and began to brace herself for the obvious outcome.

"No." He quickly replied.

The next moment Darkness hugged herself and felt excited of being rejected.

"So fast and so cruel, you didn't even hesitate to deny me some assemblance of comfort from you at all." She began to breath rapidly.

Maximus placed Chris down and walked up to Darkness. Before she noticed him there, she was immediately picked up by him. She felt a little unnerved from the act and looked up to see the caring look on his face. She began to feel a little embarrassed and quickly tried to shake it off.

"Oh, the humiliation of being lied to, such a shameful thing you have just committed. What other horrible lies do you have in store for me?" She shouted still blushing.

"Should've known you were going to do that." He said to himself and smiled a little that made her blush further.

"Oh no, do you have something hideous in those thoughts of yours? Tell me, do you have other shameful things for me to endure?" She inquired.

"No." Maximus put her down and walked back to Wiz.

"Oh, the horror of not knowing if that was the truth or a lie." She continued on.

"The truth hurts just as much as a lie does, doesn't it?" He replied.

Darkness quivered in excitement and began to shiver from his torment.

"Anyway, I was wondering if you have a sword I can buy and take off of your hands?" He inquired.

"Oh, well, I do have a magic sword in the back. Let me go get it and see if you like it." She leaned to drop down.

He helped her down by picking her up and lowering her down with ease. She nodded at him and went to the back.

"He's so kind and has hands that are so firm and gentle at the same time. I have never felt this jittery for a very long time." Wiz said to herself feeling excited.

"When are you going to hold me?" Aqua inquired with her arms folded, feeling annoyed as if she were on purposely being ignored.

"I will hold you tonight, is that alright with you Lady Aqua." He said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hmph, I will allow this to slide, but from now on you have to carry me to and from town." She said.

"Fine." He responded. "What have I gotten myself into these days? I should have never taken her with me. It makes me feel as though I am living a life of Hell with her at certain times." He thought to himself.

"Here we go," Wiz said dragging Verdia's sword from the back. "This was the sword Verdia had used quite often. He always loved this sword, he said it's supposed to increase the users magical abilities." She informed them.

"Wait, what?" Maximus quickly inquired after hearing the explanation. "How do you know that?"

Wiz immediately heard what she said to them and began to panic.

"Oh, I mean, uh, well, you see," She stopped for a moment and sighed. "I happen to be one of the Generals of the Demon King, formally." She said revealing her identity.

Maximus was unsure of what to do and Aqua began to have a sinister glare in her eyes. Darkness and Chris were standing still wondering what to do. The next instant Aqua speared Wiz to the ground, pinning her.

"Ah ha, I got you. Now all I have to do is defeat you and claim my reward." Aqua said and charged up her God Blow attack.

"Wait, Lady Aqua, please don't, I,"

Before Wiz could go on Maximus picked up Aqua and threw her in the direction of a chair and miraculously sat down on it perfectly.

Darkness once again gasp in excitement. "I must experience this torment right away!" She shouted and charged after him. "Maximus, I wish for you to,"

The moment before she could finish her request Maximus quickly took hold of and threw her away from him. Darkness was in a state of bliss, filled to the brim with excitement and Maximus chuckled at himself.

"Didn't even give that a second's hesitation, maybe it's because I know she can take it and finds joy in it." He said to himself.

Darkness landed on the floor before Aqua who began to inquire of her well-being. Chris looked up at him and smiled.

"I'll go check up on her." She said giving him a thumbs up.

Maximus helped Wiz up from the floor and helped dust off her shoulders of the little dirt.

"Oh, thank you, you're too kind." She said feeling a little more nervous.

"It was no problem." The two smiled at each other. "Now, you said formally; meaning you are not of the Demon King's faction, correct?" He inquired.

"Yes, I left under the guise and promise that no innocent civilians would be hurt. My job was to maintain the barrier that surrounds his castle. I also have no bounty placed upon me because of my kind nature." She briefly explained.

"How powerful is that barrier?" He inquired.

"Well, as powerful as you were yesterday, I doubt you would be able to break through it." She said looking down with a sad expression.

"I'm confident I could,"

"Please don't go after him." Wiz interrupted him from continuing and looked into his eyes with a serious gaze that had concern in them as well. "A man like you should not be wasted on such a silly thing. No matter how strong you might become, he is still unable to be bested by anybody who has faced him in the past. Many adventurers have tried and all of them have failed. Please, promise me you will not go after him." She begged him on the verge of tears.

Maximus saw the concern in her eyes and she began to reach up to him. The moment she was about to touch his face she stopped herself and turned away. He took hold of her shoulders and turned her around.

"You're that caring of someone who you just met not even a day ago, why?" He inquired.

"It's just I don't want to see people go to their deaths meaninglessly." She replied.

He continued to stare in her eyes and in that moment they both felt as though their souls were connecting and talking to one another.

"Alright, I promise you, I will not pursue the Demon King. However, I would like to continue going on quests so I don't become complacent with this life. Besides, going on quests would be the most preferable option anyway." He said and winked at her. "That being said,"

"You will need a weapon that would best suit you, which is why I wish to give you Verdia's sword." She quickly interrupted him and handed the sword to him. "I am sure it will serve you well."

He took hold of it and gazed upon the blade, noticing its quality was exceedingly fine.

"How much are you willing to offer this?" He inquired.

"Oh no, take it as my gift to you." She quickly replied.

"Come on, at least let me buy it for some amount, no matter how small or large, I am confident I can afford it. I should take this thing out for a test sometime later." He said.

"Here, let me place this upon the back of your coat." She said taking a hold of his coat and he knew what she was going to do. "I'll have this ready for you in no time."

"By the way, you're taking it pretty lightly of the news that he has defeated a fellow comrade of yours. Aren't you the least bit upset by this?" Darkness asked.

"It's okay, while we were fellow Generals, we weren't the best of friends. Whenever I would visit, he would always roll his head down the hall and peep up my skirt. He was such a pervert." She explained.

The next moment she was finished attaching a device and handed his coat back to him.

"This will work as a way to keep your sword upon you since it's too big for a sheath." She said smiling.

Maximus saw the piece of metal on the back and put the coat on. The moment after he placed the sword upon his back it immediately stuck to it like a magnet.

"Nicely done, I like it. Now about a price for this sword." He returned to a previous subject.

"Please, it's a gift, you don't need to pay for it." She said raising her hands up.

"Call this a donation then." Maximus took some money out of his purse and placed it on her desk.

"Oh, okay." She said not sure how to respond.

"Well, we better see what quests are available, although there probably won't be any at the moment." He said wondering if they could go back to going on new quests. "I'll come by again to see what else you might have; I can buy off you." He winked and smiled at her.

"Oh, wait, would you please keep that information about me being a former General to yourselves?" She begged them.

They all agreed walking out the door and went on about their day.

"I would like to see you again and can't wait for when that will happen." She whispered with her hands crossed in front of her.

After arriving back at the Guild, the whole party noticed no new quests were on the board. The remaining ones were those that were extremely hard. Maximus noticed the one about hunting a creature call Black Fang. He took a closer look at it and noticed it would take a whole day to make a round trip to the area where the quest would begin.

"Well, we could go on this one." He said taking hold of it and studied further. "It's offering two-hundred and fifty-thousand as a reward."

"Then let's take it!" Darkness shouted. "The thought of being ravaged by such a foul creature would be glorious!"

"Are you insane, this quest is super hard, there's no way we could be able to take on that thing!" Kazuma protested.

"What are you complaining about, we have Maximus who could keep an eye on us." Megumin quickly said.

"I'm down with that, I'll even stay out of it for the most part so you all can earn more of the reward." Maximus said taking hold of the parchment.

"But what about if we are in trouble?" Aqua inquired in a protesting manner.

"Relax, if it gets too hard for you all to handle; I'll tag in and take care of the thing. Does that please you?" He asked her.

"Well, if you are going to be there, then I am okay with it." She hesitantly replied.

"We'll start tomorrow and before we go, I'll stop by Wiz' place to see about any items we may need for it as well." He said.

"You just want to see that big chested seductress again don't you." Aqua said with anger mounting and she glared at him intensely.

He sighed in annoyance. "We'll meet up here in the morning, go to Wiz' shop, and set out from there. Is that alright with everyone." He asked.

They all nodded their heads and Kazuma felt as though he would most likely die on this encounter.

"Well, in the meantime, let's get something to eat and relax for the rest of the day." He said.

The whole party ordered their food after sitting down at a nearby table. Darkness and Chris were quickly sitting next to Maximus and Aqua was feeling a little jealous of them. She sat on the opposite side glaring at them and Kazuma and Megumin took the other side of the seat. Luna later joined them after her shift was over. They began to laugh the afternoon away as Maximus told of funny stories from his childhood. On top of that, he would tell tales of heroes of old from his world and they were all amazed, entertained, and devastated from each one.

The night rose over and they began to go about their separate ways. Once Maximus arrived at the gates, Aqua reminded him of their condition to have her in his arms while they traveled to and from town. He sighed annoyingly and decided to comply. Once they arrived at the stables, he put her down and walked inside. She wanted to be carried all the way to the haystack, but decided it was enough for now. He walked into their stall and prepared himself to sleep the night away.

"Hey, you were supposed to wait for me to change clothes." She protested.

He laid down and placed his coat over his face. "Is this sufficient enough for you?" He inquired.

"What if someone sees me?" She shot back.

Maximus sighed and stood at the entry way with his coat in hand. She quickly began to change her clothes and he could feel the sting of the cold mounting within the air as it blew in from the doorway of the stables.

"It feels as though it's going to be a cold one tonight, far more than before. I wonder how cold these winter nights can get." He said to himself.

"Okay, I am finished." Aqua said after putting her pajamas on.

He returned to the haystack and readied himself for sleep. She laid down and before she knew it, he was pressing himself against her back. She flinched at first, not expecting him so quick.

"It's going to be a very cold one tonight." He whispered into her ear.

"The winter nights can get much colder than this one I'm afraid to say. If we don't find a place to stay for us, we'll freeze to death out here." She explained.

"This is so annoying," He briefly said.

She quickly turned around thinking the worst.

"To be stuck out here day after day ever since we first arrived and not once was there a place for rent or buy or even a room in the inn to have. How is it that no one seems to want to leave this town at all?" He said out loud feeling annoyed.

"I can't say for certain, but if nothing else, we could build our own home." She suggested.

"I'm thinking we should have done so from the beginning; however, we didn't have the money to hire anyone up until now. Even if they get started on it, winter would have come and gone and we could be frozen statues before it's finished." He explained.

"What are we going to do until then?" She wondered looking into his eyes.

"We'll just have to buy more blankets and use our body heat to stay warm." He said.

She gracefully wrapped her arms around him and he was surprised to see her do that.

"I really don't mind so long as I am with you." She said as genial feelings began to mount within her. "Am I really falling for him in that way, and not just wanting him because of what I ultimately desire. Could this be the beginning of that kind of relationship?" She wondered to herself.

The next moment she saw his eyes closing and soon went to sleep.

"I'll make you a promise, Maximus. That I won't act silly in front of you again." She declared to herself.

She leaned up and kissed his forehead and turned in for the night.


	12. Chapter 12

The Hunt for the Black Fang:

The next morning Maximus had made his way to Wiz' shop to inquire about other items they may need on their trip. As instructed by Aqua he began to carry her to town and she notice he was having no troubles with her being in his arms.

"His strength is so awesome; he doesn't seem to have troubles with me at all and we're nearly at town!" Aqua said to herself feeling ecstatic with her star struck gaze still fixated on him. "I wonder if he is thinking about me right now?"

"I wonder what else Wiz might have that I can use for this quest or a later one." He said to himself. He briefly turned to notice Aqua's face while still feeling her arms around his neck. "She wasn't acting too silly and clingy this morning like usual. I wonder what could be turning in that head of hers."

The two of them arrived at the gates and he let her down.

"I wanted you to carry me the whole way, but I made myself a promise and I will do my best to live up to it." She said to herself trying not to show her disapproval.

They arrived at the Guild for a brief moment and he noticed Chris wasn't in attendance. He brushed it off thinking she was busy and reminded the rest of the party he would make a stop at Wiz' shop to see what else was there they could use. Aqua and the others decided they would wait for him at the Guild. He noticed Aqua was once again not acting in her usual jealous manner. She had sat next to him at the table during breakfast without hugging him so tightly.

"What is she up to, this isn't like her usual routine, something is off about this and I wonder what that something could be?" He wondered to himself.

He pressed on towards Wiz' shop and looked around. He saw what he was after along, with a couple of other items. She had noticed he was in a hurry and the two didn't say much out of a casual greeting. She bid him good luck and he returned to the Guild.

"Alright, I got what I needed for us on this quest. Is everyone else ready to go?" He inquired.

The four of them notice he was carrying a large bag in his hand and all wondered what it could be. They nodded in unison while still focused on what he was carrying.

"Alright, let's go over what the plan would be when we reach the forest where the Black Fang is known to wonder. Because of the serious nature and difficulty of this quest, I will be present, but only acting as a last resort to defeat the creature or should the encounter prove too much for all of you combined." He informed them. "Darkness,"

"Yes," She responded in an inquiring manner.

"You will take your place at the front of the fight once it starts and act as our main line of defense." He said.

"I understand and will gladly take the blows from the creature." She had responded in a serious tone before moving into her masochist behavior. "The thought of being torn apart by this monster is so exciting!" She said to herself with her arms wrapped around her chest.

"And there she goes again." Both Kazuma and Maximus had the same thought.

"I wonder what he is going to have me do?" Kazuma wondered and feared the worst.

"Kazuma," Maximus turned to him.

"Yes," He flinched with a little fear.

"You're the next line of defense and will support Darkness during the fight. Also, before the fight begins, I want you out in front." Maximus informed him.

"How am I supposed to do that, I don't have any cool skills to fight against the thing? Also, why am I at the front before the fight?" He protested with an inquiring manner.

"You and I have Enemy Detection, so it will make it easier if one of us is at the front and decided it would be you. You can keep an eye out for the beast at the front and me at the back. Also, use the Lurk skill Chris taught you when the battle begins in order to stay alive. You can strike the beast in its blind spots. Does that help explain what you are going to do?" Maximus informed him.

Kazuma felt uncomfortable about what his tasks before and during the battle.

"Just stick to the training I gave you and it will get you through this." Maximus finished.

"Okay." Kazuma replied with less confidence than before.

"Megumin and Aqua," He turned to them.

"Yes," They both answered in unison.

"You two are the support with me as your last guard should Darkness fall unconscious or worst case, die. But I will step in if she is overwhelmed at any time. Got it?" He instructed.

They both nodded their heads as Aqua had a more determined demeaner.

"Something is wrong here, why is Aqua not being too much like her usual self. I would suspect she throw a fit about this, yet she hasn't done any silly protest or behavior. What's going on and is this something I should worry about?" He said to himself with his gaze focused on Aqua.

"Huh, is there something wrong Maximus?" Aqua inquired.

"No, nothing is wrong, I was expecting you to protest this is all." He replied and turned around to head for the door. "Well, let's get under way."

"I wonder if he is impressed with me acting a little more refined than usual. But how long can I keep this up, it's so hard." She said to herself trying not to show her discomfort. "No, I made a promise and I am going to stick to it." She declared.

The five of them began to make their way out of town and headed to the forest where the Black Fang is said to wander. They were traveling on the road when Maximus noticed Aqua didn't take the chance to be up close to him.

"Just keep this up and he will be impressed with how I am behaving today." Aqua said to herself.

Maximus was at the rear pulling the cart behind him as he studied Aqua a little further who was walking in front of him at his two o'clock position.

Aqua took in a deep breath. "Ah, the weather seems to be very agreeable today, don't you think?" She inquired out to everyone.

"Yes indeed, the weather is much more welcoming than last night from what some people have said. But within a couple of months winter will arrive and then the days and nights are going to be unforgiving." Darkness said and paused for a moment. "The mere thought of freezing in the ice-cold temperature sounds delightful." She blurted out.

"Is there nothing you don't enjoy, also, will you stop with that attitude already for more than ten minutes!" Maximus said with a little discomfort about her demeaner.

"That is just like you, to set an unforgivable condition upon me. If only I could have you torment me more often." She said with excitement as she spun in place.

"No thank you, I would rather put up with Aqua's childlike and crybaby attitude than endure your weird perverted masochistic ways all day long any day of the week." He quickly shot back.

Aqua remained steady in her pacing with one foot in front of the other as Maximus' comment rang loudly in her ears.

"He would rather be with me than anyone else, yes, I am that much closer to winning him over!" She said to herself with excitement.

Darkness had troubles keeping pace while quivering in joy from his comment. She pressed her hands together and tilted her head against them.

"Your words hit like hammers with your honesty. Please do,"

"One more word from your mouth and I will call off this Kill Quest faster than you can blink your eyes!" Maximus shouted, quickly interrupting her.

Darkness stopped in her tracks, spinning around on her heel to face him and was about to protest him when he raised his hand with his index finger pointing up.

"Not one word." He ordered her.

"I believe she was going to say something on the lines of 'but that isn't fair and you are so cruel'. You should act a little more refined than that Darkness. Don't you think it's a bit shameful to act in that manner as a knight?" Aqua said.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Aqua?" Maximus inquired.

"Seriously, you are not acting like you normally would and it's kind of freaking me out." Kazuma added.

"Huh, what do you mean by that? I am the Goddess Aqua, the most refined out of all the Gods who looks after this world." She said with grace and a gentle voice.

Kazuma couldn't help but burst out laughing after hearing her said "refined" moments ago.

"Listen, I don't mind you playing dress up and act like you're a Goddess but could you do it when you're not with the rest of us. It's kind of embarrassing when you do that around us." Megumin said.

"But I am who I say I am." Aqua protested and began to cry.

"There's the Aqua we all know," Maximus said to himself and began to think for a moment. "I wonder why she was wanting to put on a show like that, wait, could she have tried to impress me ever since this morning?" He wondered further.

Maximus walked up beside her as she was kneeling on the ground.

"There, there, let it go. Here," He paused to pick her up and sat her on the cart. "You can ride on the cart until you are ready to walk again."

"Thank you, Maximus for doing that." She sniffed her nose a little and he patted her shoulder.

"No worries, besides we need to hurry if we are going to finish the quest in time before the night begins." He said with genuine care for her. "And here I am looking out for her once again. Why am I doing this," He wondered a little further.

"Are you seriously babying her right now!?" Kazuma inquired interrupting his thought.

"Do you prefer we just sit around and wait for her to,"

The next moment, before Maximus could go on, a large rumble echoed from beneath their feet. It was the sound of something large banging up against the hard rocks underground.

"What was that?" Both Kazuma and Maximus asked at the same time.

"Oh yes, I was hoping we would run into these creatures." Darkness said with a disturbingly contained tone that hinted with excitement as she unsheathed her sword.

"What creature would this be exactly?" Kazuma asked.

"Maximus, don't make a sound,"

Before Aqua could finish and the moment he was starting to turn around, a Giant Earthworm sprung from underneath the road. The head of the creature quickly broke through the cart, rising several feet above Maximus' head and caught Aqua within its grasp.

"Maximus, please help me!" She cried out to him with desperate tears forming in her eyes.

The next instant she was swallowed whole and Maximus could see the large lump indicating where she was. Within the same instant he began to quickly concentrate his aura into the magical sword. He took hold of it and swung his sword before him horizontally and a curved blade of energy launched forth. It easily carved into and through the worm before it could react. The large portion of its body began to wiggle around while the smaller portion landed lifeless and still upon the ground.

"Aqua, hang on, I'll get you out of there." He ran for the portion where Aqua was within and reached in to pull her out.

The moment he had freed her from the creature's dead body, he heard and felt the rumbling on the ground beneath him. He quickly moved in time to avoid another worm from surfacing, rolling away as it lunged down trying to swallow the two of them. He swung his sword upward and just barely cleaved the side of its body. The wound was not deep enough to cause harm, but enough for it to consider retreating from him.

He jumped in the air and hovered over the rest of them using the magic he knew from his time of being a Mage on his world. Aqua was crying her eyes out after being swallowed and covered in its saliva and small traces of its blood.

"Thank you, Maximus." She barely said sniffing her nose and rubbing her eyes.

She was feeling traumatized and began to remember the time being swallowed by the toads.

"I can't believe I have been bested by a Giant Worm as if the toads weren't bad enough, now these lowly creatures." She said and buried her face against Maximus' chest.

"It's okay now, I got you, you're safe from those things." He said in order to comfort her. "Poor thing, she really isn't doing so well ever since coming to this world." He said to himself, feeling sorry for her. He turned down to the others. "Everyone, don't move a muscle, I have a strong suspicion these worms react when their prey is above them."

"Oh, that's great. So, what are we supposed to do then?" Kazuma inquired.

Megumin was beginning to panic as Darkness began to grin from ear to ear with a thought. The next moment she took a step forward, intentionally making it as loud as she possibly can. The clanking of her armor ringed and Kazuma slightly turned toward her. Before he could say a word, Darkness was swallowed whole by another Giant Earthworm. The creature landed on the ground and began to move its way back underneath.

"Darkness!" Kazuma shouted and accidently took several steps back.

The next moment he too was swallowed whole by another worm. Maximus was annoyed the two of them would not listen to his instructions and noticed Megumin hadn't moved a single inch since the first one appeared. She was having troubles keeping her composure after seeing her teammates swallowed up by the worms.

"I-I don't know how much longer I can keep still." She said with every inch of her shaking with fear, trembling at the thought of being eaten by another worm.

Maximus quickly swung his blade twice and cleaved the worms in two. Kazuma slid out with his face traumatized and gasped for air. Darkness was entranced with excitement and disappointment soon mounted as she was denied going through the worm's digestive track. She had the look as though she could check off an item on her to do list of being tortured in life.

"This must be how Aqua felt when she was first swallowed by those toads when we first started our adventure. I feel so violated right now." Kazuma said barely over a whisper as he began to break down.

"If only I could have enjoyed being digested by that creature, it would have certainly been worth the long suffocating wait. But," She paused to look up at Maximus. "I am glad he saved me. It looks as though I am going to owe him a debt of gratitude again. I wonder what he would have me do in order to repay him." She thought to herself.

Maximus quickly swooped down and grabbed them and flew some distance from the area. After flying for a few moments, he saw a river nearby and landed next to it.

"Thank you for the save, I was so frightened I couldn't move." Megumin said feeling grateful.

"It was no trouble at all besides, it was good you didn't move or else you would have endured the same torment the others went through." He said.

Kazuma was upset his outfit was drenched in the worm's saliva and went over to the water to rinse off. Darkness was sprawled out on the ground laughing with joy and Aqua was still latched onto Maximus crying.

"Here," Maximus said to Aqua and she turned to face him tears still streaming out of her eyes. "We better get you washed up before continuing on with this quest." He walked over to the river side with her by his side.

He began to help remove the thick saliva off by dousing the water on top of her. He also brushed his hand over the majority of the thick substance and left a couple of spots on her to wipe off herself. The two of them didn't turn their gaze from each other the whole time. As they stared into each other's eyes the two of them began to feel a little deeper connection.

"Thank you, Maximus." She said with admiration.

"Your welcome." He smiled and winked at her.

"Geez, get a room you two." Megumin bluntly said.

"Don't you dare ruin Goddess' tender moment!" Aqua instantly spun on her heels to shout at Megumin.

"It's alright, maybe we can have one later." Maximus said to her chuckling.

Aqua's face puffed up in anger and her frown got more noticeable.

After the saliva was off, he began to walk back to the rest with her by his side.

"I'll build us a fire so we can dry your clothes off after washing in the water." He instructed.

She nodded her head and he turned around, remembering the bag with the equipment he bought for this quest.

"Oh great, the bag I need is back where all the dead worms are. Wait here while I go and get it. This won't take long." He said to them.

The next moment he leaped towards the direction they escaped from. Once he was over the area, he saw the bag surprisingly off to the side of the road with small debris of the cart sprawled throughout the area. He quickly landed next to it and immediately jumped back to the others, barely escaping another worm.

"They are faster than I originally thought." He said.

He landed a few feet from the river and began to open the bag. He pulled out some poles and rope to make a clothesline.

"Holy crap, you weren't kidding when you said that wouldn't take long." Kazuma said with amazement.

"Alright, you three will need to dry your clothes, then we'll continue the Kill Quest afterwards." Maximus instructed.

He turned around and walked up the small hill hiding the river to keep an eye out. Kazuma stayed behind for a moment before being instructed by Maximus to join him. After a couple of hours went by and when their clothes were dry, they proceeded onto the forest.

At the foot of the trees to the forest Maximus noticed the sun was beginning to set on the horizon. He wondered if they will even find it in time before night or if they would possibly have to check any caves in the area.

"Uhm, is anyone else worried about hunting this thing at night, I mean what if we are ambushed by this creature or other creatures?" Kazuma inquired out loud.

"Then I will deal with them accordingly, however our target is a bear and from what I know about them if they at anytime sense danger, they will more than likely come straight towards us." Maximus replied.

"Are you serious about that?" Megumin asked.

"Yes, bears are known to be easy going until they are either hungry, protecting their turf or young, and of course sensing a threat. I am confident we will find this Black Fang before long." He explained and set the bad down. "Now, all we need to do is draw it out and this might prove difficult since we are in the fall season. They tend to hibernate until spring within their caves. But that is where this will come in." He said opening the bag and pulled out a piece of meat wrapped in paper.

He began to make a fire and ran a metal rod through it to hand on the two poles over the fire.

"This will surely get its attention and if not, we'll take any other animal or monster that shows up." He took hold of the bag and began to walk away from the fire.

"Where are you going?" Darkness inquired.

"I am going to be far away from this as possible while the four of you will battle the Black Fang when it appears." He said and Aqua was about to protest. "Don't worry, I will be in close proximity to you should the situation get out of hand and aid you accordingly. Until then, good luck."

He began to make his way into the forest as the others had a panicked look on their face. Darkness' face had a slight grin that turned into an overly excited smile.

"Do not worry for I will shield them should they need to escape." She said to him.

The moment he got just out of sight from the light of the fire they all heard a loud roar belonging to a large beast.

"No way, does that thing known we are already here?!" Kazuma said feeling extremely nervous.

"Any thoughts on what this could be?" Maximus inquired of the others.

"The way it sounded could be either a dragon, or a fire drake." Megumin informed him.

"I would not mind fighting against either of those. The thought of having my clothes burnt to ashes and my skin instantly boiled is something I would greatly look forward to." Darkness said with her excitement flowing out of her as she unsheathed her sword.

"At least I will be done with you and your discomforting ways." Maximus said.

Darkness flinched in excitement and Aqua had already taken her place beside Maximus.

"Whatever happens, you'll protect me like you said, right?" She asked.

Maximus kept his gaze in the direction where the echo of the roar had sounded off. The next moment he remembered his conversation with Wiz before the quest began. She informed him about the item's potency which will attract any predator nearby.

"To think it would work that well enough and I wonder if I ended up attracting something else by mistake." He said to himself.

The next moment they all heard the thundering sound of heavy footsteps running towards them. The following that they heard the report of another roar which was the same only louder. The sound of the trees breaking echoed and many smaller creatures howled with panic in their cries. The ground was rumbling more vibrantly than before.

Kazuma was in deep panic, hyperventilating, his knees shaking, and his hands gripping his sword tight.

"What is coming right at us?" He was barely able to whisper in a high-pitched voice.

Megumin was sweating and began to quake from the awesome power the creature's thundering footsteps were producing. Her hands were having difficulty holding onto the magic staff she had.

Aqua was petrified, not sure of what to do but hold onto Maximus' arm ever more. She moved a little bit to stand behind him with her head peaking out the side.

Maximus remained calm as he wondered what could be barreling towards them with the upmost urgency. He moved his free hand to take hold of his sword and readied himself for the battle ahead.

Darkness was her usual self, being over-whelmed with joy at the thought of being torn apart by the unknown creature. Her body shaking with excitement and her face wore a disturbing smile, giggling like a child.

The next moment a giant bear appeared out into the small opening they were standing in. The animal stopped in its tracks and roared loud in a manner to taunt and scare them away. It then stood on its hind legs, reaching a height of nearly fifteen feet tall. The fur upon it was dark as night with a white ring of fur around its neck.

Aqua, Kazuma, and Megumin screamed in fear at the sight of the titanic beast and ran away in fear. Maximus and Darkness stood their ground and prepared for battle.

"I have never seen one so big before, let alone meaner looking. I have never seen a bear be more worthy of being called a bear. This thing might be too much for them and possibly me as well. But there is no sense in running now, here goes." Maximus said to himself.

Darkness was frozen in place at the mere thought of being devoured or defeated by the beast. Maximus moved with lightning speeds to cut the animal down. Swinging his sword, he hit the bear but his blade didn't cleave into it enough. He noticed it only went in only an inch.

"Too much fur and too thick of muscles to even put any real damage upon this creature." He said out loud.

The next moment the bear swung its giant paw at high speeds Maximus was not anticipating. He was struck by the beast and launched towards a nearby tree. His chest felt as though he was hit by a falling boulder and his breath escaped him when he smashed onto the tree. His vision went white out and for several moments he was unconscious.

"Maximus," Darkness shouted.

Before she could make a move, the bear slammed its paw against her as well and she felt the same pain as Maximus went through. She slid back several yards and managed to stand her ground despite the pain.

"That was quite exhilarating, I must experience more. Come at me you fowl beast, let us continue our duel!" She shouted and charge at it.

Maximus was barely waking up to see her striking at the beast. She swung her sword three times to clash her sword against the creature and despite the abnormally large size and standing still, the animal was unharmed. Maximus watched in disbelief as she never even once hit her mark.

"Are you kidding me!" He grunted out. "Here I thought she was unable to strike the cabbages because of their size and quick movements. Yet here she is, fighting against this beast, who is more than ten times their size and standing still, and she couldn't hit the thing not even once!"

"I've got no choice but to do this and thank goodness Aqua isn't here to see it be used in this way." Maximus said to himself and began to channel his Demonic Aura into his left fist.

The bear took another swing at Darkness that sent her against a nearby tree. Her armor broke into dozens of pieces and it quickly charged after the rest of the party with unbelievable speeds.

"Oh no, Aqua." He said and saw that Darkness wasn't waking up. "No, why now of all times." He said and bolted towards her.

Meanwhile the others were barely making their way out of the forest when they stopped to catch their breath.

"Do you think they are alright?" Megumin asked.

"How should I know." Kazuma shot back.

"It should be okay, me and Kazuma saw him fight against a Manticore when we first arrived." Aqua informed her.

"Yeah, but that creature is a lot bigger than the Manticore." Kazuma shot back.

The next moment they heard the rumbling footsteps of the giant beast barreling towards them. The thunderous sounds echoed into their bones so deep they were unable to move. They turned around to see the bear standing only a few feet away. The three of them braced themselves after seeing it stand on its hind legs once more and raised its paw high into the air.

The moment before it began to descend its paw onto them, Maximus appeared behind them some distance. He was squatted down in a position to sprint forward. The moment he put pressure into his foot the ground formed a large crater around it. He darted at supersonic speeds with his left fist flying before him filled with Demonic Aura.

The next instant the Demonic Aura flowed into his hand that shined a crimson light and he buried it into the giant bear. The force of the impact vibrated into the animal, causing its heart to collapse in between its sternum and spine. The cracking sound that followed made it seem as though an explosion had gone off in front of them.

Before they could fully inquire what had transpired, Darkness' body fell before them and the next moment the bear's body fell lifeless to the ground. Aqua quickly sensed the demonic power flowing from Maximus more noticeably than the time he fought the Manticore. She barely saw the last of the crimson light emanating from him. For a brief moment she was unsure of what to make of the whole situation and began to fear him a little more for the first time. She began to remember when he fought the Manticore and recognized the same Demonic Aura from before.

"There's no doubt about it, he has Demonic Blood running through his veins." She whispered out.

Maximus began to control the Demonic Rage that was aching to obtain control over him. He breathed rapidly, forcing himself to take in deeper breaths and noticed it was beginning to be easier to control the force within. Once he was breathing normally, he turned around to face his party members.

Aqua backed away in fear as Kazuma and Megumin turned to notice Maximus was before them and standing in front of the giant bear.

"Holy crap, did you just kill that thing with your bare hands?" Kazuma asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I guess I did." He said rubbing his hand.

Maximus noticed the look on Aqua's face. She had the look of someone who was staring down at an opponent and a look of betrayal.

"Aqua," He said in a concerned way.

"Don't you come near me, demon!" She snapped at him, raising her arm up and her staff appeared after a moment and pointed it at him.

"Whoa, Aqua, calm down, don't you know that's Maximus you are pointing that staff at?" Megumin said standing in front of her.

"I have a dirty suspicion he has Demonic Blood running through his veins. Tell me, who were your ancestors and why did they have a curse placed upon them?" Aqua ordered him to answer.

She began to recall when they first met about his brief talk about his ancestors. The flower on her staff bloomed and a bright light shined within it.

Maximus sighed with a hint of sadness. "My ancestors were called the Nephilim, the offspring of an Angel and a Demon. Long ago they at one point in time brought the known Cosmos to its knees, from their perspective on what is known. As punishment, they were nearly wiped off the face of all existence, say for three. One of them, a woman, who was the daughter of the other two, was placed with a curse that followed all the way down to me in order to keep the Nephilim in check and to ensure that tragedy never blossoms again. To be more precise, I am more Human than an Angel or Demon, I just inherited their gift like many before me, only I had you erase that curse so that I could easily defeat the Demon King on this world in order to return to mine." Maximus paused for a moment. "At least that's what I was going to do, but now things have changed and I don't feel like going home anymore, because of you." He finished trying to ease the tension.

Aqua kept a fierce gaze upon him waiting for him to make the wrong move.

He turned around to look at the giant bear he had slain and wondered if it was the creature they were hunting for. He took hold of the beast and put a large portion over his shoulder to carry it back.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Kazuma asked.

"What, we can still make it back into town before the cold chill sets in." He said dragging the large animal.

The next moment Darkness awoke to see her armor had been destroyed. Before she was to inquire about the beast, she saw Maximus carrying it.

"Did I miss the battle's end, how long was I out for and what's wrong with Aqua?" Darkness inquired.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you all about on the way back to Axel." Maximus said.

During their trip she was informed about the fight and was disappointed she didn't get tormented by the creature further. Aqua was at the front of the party, away from Maximus. Her mind racing over all the things she had been through with him and wondered about him further after being briefed on his ancestor's full history.

"I remember hearing about that time when a sector of the Universe was under attack, but to think he is their descendant and I was falling for him. That is both shameful and disturbing," She stopped for a moment and turned back at him. "But he has never once shown any evidence to deceive me and he has always cared for me. How do I go on from here after that and should I pursue such a relationship?" She wondered looking down at the road holding a lantern.

They returned back to the Guild and found out the giant bear they defeated was indeed the Black Fang they were hunting for. They received the reward and Maximus informed them they could split it amongst themselves. They all split to their homes and when at the stables Aqua sat there awkwardly, not being her usual clingy self towards him. Maximus could sense the tension within her and decided to sleep by himself against the wall. The two were silent and didn't say goodnight as usual nor did he give her even a fake prayer. He closed his eyes and waited for morning's light to appear.


	13. Chapter 13

The Unexpected Deal:

The morning's light began to creep over the mountains in the distance and the roster crowed at the signal the sun gave off. Aqua awoke not feeling the cold sting of fall after the unexpected warm night. She turned to notice Maximus was still laying against the wall and immediately turned away, her thoughts dwelt on him and events that lead to last night.

"Who would have ever thought a Goddess such as I would fall for someone with actual demon blood in their veins. With Megumin being a member of the Crimson Demon Clan, she is not like him, his aura is a lot more potent than hers. Plus, her powers do not seem as sinister as his was last night. I do remember sensing a little bit of it when he fought the Manticore, but I was not fully aware of it like yesterday when he was fighting the Black Fang." She said to herself.

She continued to lay there and move to the fetal position feeling a little confused. She had the feelings of being ashamed of herself conflicting with her fondness to him.

"I mean, he has stuck with me since the beginning and even looked out for me. Even after I broke the rules of interfering with another world's populace within the Cosmos and brought him here, he still watched over me." She stopped for a moment and smiled a little before continuing her thought. "Stay by my side and I will look after you." She said while mimicking his voice.

She giggled a little and began to feel a little better about the whole ordeal between the two.

"Maybe it's not so bad as I am making it out to be." She paused for a moment. "Wait no, I'm a Goddess, I shouldn't be falling for someone who has Demonic heritage. Demons, that are like him, are the natural born enemies of all the Gods. This kind of affection for someone like him is frowned upon. And yet, I cannot help myself. Is this what they call 'love'?" She wondered further.

After a few moments she noticed he had not woken up from the roster's crow and turned around to see him still in the same position as last night.

"Maybe he is more tired after the fight than I thought." She suggested to herself.

She began to move towards him and knelt down beside him. Her face was carrying a slight grin and she tapped his shoulder.

"Come on, get up, it's morning already and we need to,"

Before she could go on his lifeless body fell to the ground. His body's condition was beginning to register. The skin on his face had slightly paled into a blue color and his eyes were shut. He did not respond at all when his body hit the floor.

"Maximus," She began to feel terror seeing no response from him at all. Her eyes filled with a panicked expression and she could not move for a moment. "Maximus, come on, stop playing around. This isn't funny, wake up!" She giggled and soon began to shout.

Her hand touched the skin on his face and she felt the cold sting of a body that would be dead.

"No, no, no, Maximus, you have to get up. Please get up, say something if you are there!" She began to cry as her feelings for him were brought back to life. "What do I do? Maximus please do not be dead, please do not leave me alone in this cruel world! You said you would be there for me so long as I stand by your side! So, you have to get up, you have to!" Her cries echoed through the stables more profoundly.

Kazuma awoke from her crying and darted to their stall. "What is the big deal here, why are you," He stopped to notice Maximus' lifeless body on the ground before her. "Is he,"

"Don't you dare say it, he can't be, he must be still alive, I know it!" She snapped at him.

Kazuma walked up and pressed his fingers against Maximus' neck to check his pulse. After a few seconds, he removed his fingers and pressed again. After several times of checking his neck and lifted his arm up and dropped it he knew the results.

"Oh my God, he is dead!" He shouted.

Aqua began crying more and he turned to her.

"Hey, don't you know any spells that can help him?" He inquired and noticed she was too wrapped up crying. "Here, I've got an idea." He said and she stopped for a moment with a tearful face.

Kazuma moved Maximus' body away from the wall and began to inform her about a technique he knew in his world that could save him.

"If you want to bring him back to life, take one hand and put it on his chest and the other, grasping your fingers, and push down on him as hard as you can. After doing this for about twelve times, move to breathe into his mouth as you plug his nose, then repeat again until he wakes up." He instructed her and showed her how to have her hands on him.

"Why won't you do this with me?" She asked.

"Are you insane, I'm not kissing him." He shot back. "Besides, you're a Goddess, with your strength; you'll probably have a better time than I."

Aqua quickly placed her hands over his chest and began to resuscitate Maximus. After performing the process Kazuma instructed several times, she noticed nothing was happening.

"What's wrong, why won't he wake up?!" She asked with panic in her voice.

"I think he's not coming back at all; he might be too far gone." Kazuma said feeling sorry for Aqua.

"No, he's coming back, just you watch he will return to me!" She protested in anger.

She moved to breathe air into his mouth but soon found herself kissing his lips with her tears flowing down to his face.

"Please wake up." She desperately said to herself.

Meanwhile, in the Heavenly Realm, Maximus was sitting on a chair in a familiar spot.

"What the, how did I get here?" He wondered to himself after seeing the same chair Aqua had sat on when he first met her. "No, no, no, this is a dream." He stood up to look around. "That is what this is, nothing more than just a plain good old fashion dream about the afterlife. My subconscious thoughts come to life to show me the splendors of relief." He stopped and noticed he was not waking up. "Okay, you can wake up now."

"Welcome to the afterlife." A familiar voice called out to him.

He turned around and saw Eris standing before the larger chair.

"Oh no, it's real." He said with disappointment and sighed as frustration began to mount.

"I guess there is no reason to inform you about your untimely death." She said sitting down on the chair.

"No, this is still a dream and I did not die." He protested.

Eris kept her gaze upon him for a moment as he turned around folding his arms.

"I am sorry, but you did pass away some time ago during the night." She informed him.

"But how, surely there is an explanation for this? I was the picture of," He paused as a Deja vu moment sprung into his mind. "No, this is way too much for me right now, not to mention I did not feel any cold hand upon me at all." He finished his thought feeling confused.

"Well to put it bluntly, she's the reason why you died." She said to him.

"What do you mean by that?" He turned around to face her.

"Well, since she still carries her Goddess Aura, it was killing you slowly ever since you arrived. The one night I showed up was to help heal you." She briefly explained.

"No way," He paused as his thought ran through his mind. "That makes so much sense as to why I always awoke feeling so sore. It was not a rage like I thought, it was just my demonic side reacting to both of them, more so Aqua. What a funny twist in this story I am living in. To be falling for someone who is, literally, killing me little by little each night. I wonder if my Angelic Aura kept it at bay and possibly healed me a little, but not enough. Knowing that, should I even return to her knowing I could die again or do I leave her behind with the others, who are the worst companions to have in a party." He painfully suggested the two choices likely to be offered to him.

Eris was surprise to hear him beginning to cry. "Is he really crying about this?" She said to herself.

After a few minutes he wiped away the tears from his eyes after thinking it thoroughly.

"I don't care if that is the case." Maximus said to himself and had a serious look in his eyes. "You have to send me back, right now." He calmly said hunched over.

"I would if I could, but I unfortunately cannot and that is because we have rules here that we must abide by." She said feeling a little sorry for him. "By the way, I can bend the rules and send you back to the moment after Aqua took you from your world, but nothing else I am afraid." She informed him.

"Your offer is quite generous and I will admit I wanted to return home from the start," He paused for a moment. "However, that has changed over the short time I was there."

"What do you mean by that and are you really giving up going back to your home world to return to this one?" She inquired feeling surprised.

"Sometime after arriving upon that world, with her by my side, my plans had changed. I told her to stay by my side and I would look after her. At first it was meant to help her get back to her home, but as I said before; things changed. Plus, I believe she has feelings for me now, feelings that up until meeting me I would dare bet, she had never experienced before. Considering she used to do nothing but ferry souls to and fro between various worlds while sitting here, she has never done anything nor experienced the joys and sorrows of being in the Mortal Realm. Especially with someone she cares for." He explained.

"I can see his point; she has seemed to fall into deeper feelings towards him recently." She said to herself. "But a Goddess shouldn't fall for a mortal, even one with demon blood flowing through their veins like you." She protested the idea.

"I do seem to recall you falling for me just by my character alone. Besides, stories from various worlds always have a few of them about forbidden love, why should this one be any different." He shot back.

"So, you wish to not return to your world? What about the Demon Lords there you were fighting against, surely you would want to defeat them in order to protect it, yes?" She inquired to change the subject.

"I do not need to worry too much about the troubles of my world. Besides, there are a few people there who are more than capable of doing the job. One of them I was unable to defeat in my Angelic Form. He was like me as well, a descendant of the Nephilim. During our little skirmish, he never once transformed in our fight; nor did he flinch when I threw the strongest attack at him. It was as if I was a fly, landing on him, the immovable object." He explained before carrying on. "All I care about now is returning to Aqua's side and nothing more."

"You are serious about this; you would forsake your family and friends upon your world just to go back to her?" She inquired further.

"Yes." He quickly answered.

"I understand your strong feelings for her, but I cannot return you to that world." She said feeling terrible for saying it.

"Surely there is something you can do for me, I do not care what it is, but one way or another; I am going to return to her." He proclaimed.

"I am pretty confident she can move on without you and maybe Kazuma can look after her along with Darkness and Megumin." She said in a cheerful manner that fell on his deaf ears.

"Do you honestly believe he is even remotely capable and has the strength of character to want to look after her?" He inquired.

She was speechless and was a little ashamed to suggest the idea. Maximus began to walk up to her.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I would dare go as far as to say you want to keep me from her. Are you jealous of her because it sure almost seems like you are?" He inquired and she began to feel a little embarrassed. "It all makes sense now, back when we three were together, I couldn't help but noticed the way you were acting towards her. How you always shot a playful, yet competitive glance her way. Why are you so jealous of her anyway?" He inquired.

"Because the strength of her followers faith in her, despite being dwarfed by my followers numbers, she is still in a higher position than I." She briefly explained.

"And here I thought Deities don't get wrapped up in such things. But after a few discussions about Kazuma's world, and the little knowledge about several Deities being worshiped there, I guess it really does happen once in a while." He said turning around to sit back down on his chair. "It makes no difference either way, I'm going to return to her and I don't care who is in my way, nor care about how long I have to sit here or travel across this void, I will go back." He informed her.

"I am sorry, but as the Goddess who watches over the people of this world, I'm afraid you can't go back no matter what. If you do go against the system, you go against the very forces of Heaven itself." She explained.

"Then so be it." Maximus stood up and walked back to her once more. He held out his left hand with his palm open facing her. "I am sorry about this; the truth is I would have rather avoided this decision." He said.

"You wouldn't attack a Goddess such as I, your bluffing." She said to call him out sensing his hostile intent.

The next moment the palm of his hand was engulfed with a crimson light. Eris was shocked to see him beginning to employ an attack on her. Soon after two Angels appeared at his side, both of them had drawn their swords. One was next to his neck and the other aiming for his heart.

"You would dare attack a Goddess of Heaven?" One of the Angels said who was the same one that took over Aqua's post.

"I don't care who it is, even if I have to face the highest level of your Gods, I will go back to her. I wonder though, will you two even be enough to take on a Human Nephilim. You are just Angels, where I have the gifts of an Angel and a Demon. Do you think the two of you can win against me?" He asked them.

"It matters not, for dying in the service of the Gods is the highest of honors as well as serving them." The Angel responded to him.

"Such small thinkers you have under your employ." He paused for a moment as he began to feel Aqua's lips on his. "Is she trying to bring me back herself?" He wondered and soon felt the tears fall on his face. "No way, she really is trying to." He said as he moved his right hand on the top of his lips and heard her cry out to him. He looked back at Eris' eyes. "Well, what's your verdict for all of this, are you going to let me return or are we all going to die here?" He inquired.

"You do realize if the two of you should continue a life together, she will never be able to come back here. If she is willing to give up being a Goddess just to be with you, she will suffer in the long run. Because she will more than likely live on forever while you die old and you will never see each other again." Eris informed him.

"Fun fact about those of us like me and that is once a Human Nephilim's power has been activated, we can live for an extremely long time. Some might even suggest we would have eternal youth. At least it is a good theory for the long-life span some of us in my history have endured." He continued to keep his eyes locked onto her.

The four of them stayed there waiting for the other to make a move. The Angels eyed him closely, waiting for him to make another move to harm Eris. The crimson light still emanated from his hand and Eris tried to stand her ground on the decision she informed him about. After several moments passed, she closed her eyes, seeing no choice but to choose an option she did not want him to go on.

"Alright, there's no need to continue this. That being said, should I continue with this, a price must be paid in order to allow this to happen." She informed him.

Maximus began to lower his hand and the light dimmed away as he backed off from her. The two Angels at his side lowered their swords and waited by Eris' side.

"Whatever you wish I will pay it forward." He said with a serious look in his eyes.

"Very well then," She said and raised her hands. "Just so you know I do not make the rules and Heaven will choose at random what it will desire as payment." She finished.

The moment after a circle appeared beneath him and he noticed it was shining a different color than before. It first went red for a few seconds and he soon felt something being taken away from him. The sharp pains within his body pierced every fiber of his being and he felt as though it was daggers pressing into him. He grunted in pain trying to hide his discomfort to no avail and screamed loudly in pain. After it was over, he stood there feeling the exhausting sting of fatigue over him.

"Fare thee well Maximus, I am terribly sorry this had to happen and would have preferred it if you went back to your home world instead of this. When we meet again, I pray you do not hold a grudge against me for this." She said feeling sad for what he had to endure to leave and go back to be by Aqua's side.

Meanwhile back in the stables, Aqua knelt at his side, burying her face upon his chest, slamming her fist upon him. "No, why won't you come back to me. I promise I will be a better party member from now on. Please Maximus, will you please wake up and come back to me!" Aqua continued to cry.

"Poor Aqua, she really has fallen for him and who wouldn't blame her since they had been growing close to each other for the last couple of months." Kazuma said to himself and stood up. "Well, we better take him to the city and begin the funeral process for the guy." He said to her.

The moment before she could protest, Maximus' skin on his body changed back to normal and the next moment he awoke taking a deep breath. Life instantly returned to him and he sat up with all haste. His breathing began to quicken and soon felt his chest in pain. He took hold of it and began to take in his surroundings.

"Where am I and why does my chest hurt something fierce as though someone was pressing on it too hard?" He wondered to himself.

The next moment Aqua latched onto him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and she began to cry with tears of joy.

"Maximus, you're alive, thank goodness you came back to me." She said with a cheerful tone after being worried she would have to continue her journey without him.

"Uh, Miss, you can let go now." He said feeling confused.

"Oh man, that was a close one. I almost thought we were going to continue this life of ours without you. I honestly don't even want to think about that at all." Kazuma said feeling relieved after seeing him come back to life.

"Maximus, don't you dare do that to me again, understand." Aqua instructed him with her tears still flowing out of her.

Maximus felt even more confused and she soon noticed he was not acting like his usual caring self towards her. The feeling of his welcoming embrace was replaced with one as though a stranger was looking at them. He looked back at Kazuma once more and turned back to Aqua who was still latched onto him.

"Who are you?" He inquired wondering who they were to him.


	14. Chapter 14

Reset: Arrival Upon This Beautiful World:

Aqua was sitting next to Maximus with a terrified look upon her face after hearing what he had just spoke. Her whole world was on the brink of collapsing right before her eyes. A part of her wanted to believe what he said was some kind of joke. She waited to see if his face would show signs of a smile usually following such a gesture. But to Aqua's dismay, she received no such relief.

"Y-y-you are kidding right, please tell me you are playing around with me and I can relax within your arms, like usual, please, please." She begged him as she had latched onto his arm and leaned forward ever so close.

After a moment she could see no signs of his eyes changing into his welcoming gaze.

"I am sorry, but I do not recall ever meeting you or even being with you at all. Who are you again?" Maximus said leaning away from her with an uncomfortable expression.

"I don't believe it; you really don't remember me at all?" She asked on the verge of crying painfully in front of him.

Maximus felt a little bad seeing her reaction to him and placed his hands on her shoulder. She kept her gaze into his eyes as the tears were ready to escape at a moment's notice. He noticed her eyes had a peculiar shine to them which reminded him of a previous lover. Before he could inquire more about his surroundings and her, Kazuma jumped in on the conversation.

"Hold on, what's the last thing you remember?" He inquired.

Maximus turned to him for a moment before looking down at the floor of the stables. He briefly turned back at Aqua, who was still next to him waiting to hear his reply. A part of her wanted this to be a bad dream, she felt the two were becoming closer over the last little while and she could not bear the thought of hearing the opposite of what she wanted to hear him say.

"The last thing I remember was going to sleep after a hard day's work within the city. It suffered extreme damage from my battle with the Demon Lord Archafeld, who tried to invade my world." He paused for a moment and noticed Aqua was trying desperately to hold back from crying again. "But it seems by your reckoning I have been here longer than an overnight sleep." He finished.

Aqua began to cry again, loudly, as though she was trying to have her cries reach Heaven itself. She buried her face upon Maximus' chest and he could not help but try to comfort her in some small way to make her feel better. He placed his hand on top of her head and she felt the difference between his touch now than from before.

"No, this can't be happening to me, why did you have to forget about me and everyone else! Along with all the things we have been through!" She struggled to say while sniffing her nose.

"How is this possible for me to not know either of you? How could I have been here without any memories at all? How did I even end up here in the first place?" He asked out loud.

Aqua leaned back from him after clearing her eyes.

"I brought you here the first time in order to help this world." She replied.

"Okay, how were you able to accomplish this and how did you know about me in the first place?" He inquired further.

"Before you were brought over here, I, Aqua a Goddess, would sometimes look at other worlds the other Deities would look after and saw your fight with the Demon Lords of Wrath and Lust. Your battle was so magnificent and you were so incredible, I knew you would be a better bet to defeat the Demon King on this world. So… I… interfered with your life by taking you from your world to bring you here." She admitted and waited to see how he would react.

"Could this be a trick, some kind of dream state Naemah put me in and I haven't woken up yet at all or is she really telling the truth about all of this?" He wondered to himself. "When you said interfere, what exactly do you mean by that?" He inquired of her.

She noticed his whole persona changed before her and she began to feel sorrow mount by the second. She wanted badly for this to be a dream and she would wake up in his welcoming arms again. Because the reality she was witnessing was far colder than before.

"I caused your heart to stop so I could ferry you over to this world,"

"What!?" Maximus shouted before she could finish, with anger quickly escaping with the word that echoed through the stables.

Aqua and Kazuma flinched in fear. He was beginning to worry about her for a moment as he saw the rage in Maximus' eyes. He stood up still filling anger towards her.

"Oh boy, this is not going to be great at all." Kazuma gulped.

Aqua was still on her knees with the same sad expression that had added onto the sorrowful feelings showing in her eyes. Maximus was in a whirlwind of emotions, where he was first feeling sorry for her to overflowing with hatred towards her act and into anger for her to call herself a Deity who would dare employ such a thing on someone who she did not know.

"That's not at all how a Goddess should conduct themselves. You know what, I would go as far as to say you are not even one in the first place. I bet you are some random girl who acts as though she is one, all in the name of getting attention for yourself. If you were one, how did you end up here in the Mortal Realm?" He inquired in a condescending tone.

Maximus' words hit Aqua deep, her feelings being crushed, and the beginning of their relationship shattered before her eyes. She wanted to be held by him, but now she was not sure it will ever happen again.

"When we first met and I informed you of what I did then, you took me down her with you. It was your way of punishing me, a Goddess who had no knowledge of how to live in this world." She paused for a moment trying to hold back the new wave of tears forming. "But after you took me along with you, you took pity on my. You told me to stay by your side and basically promised you would look after me while being here." She sniffed her nose. "And over the short amount of time before you died again, we were becoming close to one another."

Maximus turned around and began to walk out of the stables to clear his head and get away from them when Aqua took hold of his arm. He turned his head to see Aqua's face, her eyes desperately trying to call out to him. In that moment, despite being angry with her, he could not help himself but be a little drawn in by her expression.

"Those tears in her eyes are genuine and real, not the ones from some random street charlatan whose putting on a show." He said to himself. "Cry all you want; I will not forgive you so easily." He turned around and before he could take a step, he had a strange feeling he had been in this scenario before but was not able to recall it.

"That is how we started before, now the question is should I continue to act how I did before or do something different. I wish I knew what to do. Maybe it might be best I show him how he began to fall for me like last time." Aqua said to herself as she began to have a new determination slowly building within her.

"I feel as though we have made a circle. Well, at least this time around we aren't poor, but we are still without a house to live in." Kazuma said to himself. "Hey, Maximus, maybe it will help you jog your memory by going on quests or seeing the areas all over again to help you out." He suggested with slight enthusiasm and remembered the hard times which came along side those quests.

"Pardon me, I did not get your name." Maximus said.

"My name is Kazuma Satou, and I am one of your party members." He reintroduced himself.

"Party members?" Maximus said with confusion.

"Ugh, this is going to take some time to explain. But short version is, there are people in this world who go on various quests to level up and ultimately go to defeat the Demon King." Kazuma briefly explained.

"I take it this Demon King is making people suffer from his form of tyranny?" Maximus asked.

"Yes, he has been oppressing the people on this world for quite some time now. Everywhere his armies go, death and despair shortly follow." Aqua added.

"You know, about that, we have been here for quite some time now and I haven't even seen his armies come anywhere near here." Kazuma said.

"Well, that's because his castle is nowhere near this town. He wouldn't go out of his way just to attack a beginners town of low-level adventurers." Aqua informed him.

"You mentioned levels before, what do you mean by that?" Maximus inquired.

"Huh, you should still have your Adventurer's Card on you." Kazuma said.

Maximus checked his pockets and did not discover his card anywhere in his clothing or his blue trench coat. The moment he looked closer at it; he saw the tears upon it.

"By Heaven's name, what was I attacked by?" He inquired.

Aqua walked up to him and gently placed her hands on his coat. "This was from yesterday when you saved me from the Giant Worms." She said showing him the clean cut on his sleeve. "And this one is when you fought against the Black Fang last night. Your coat has been through quite a lot since arriving here." She continued showing him the other cuts.

Maximus kept his eyes on the coat and began to see what they were saying was indeed real. Whatever doubts about being here were beginning to be replaced with the physical evidence which was before him.

"Here, I can fix this for you, all I need is some needle and thread." She said in a caring manner.

"We can get those in town, plus we should see about getting your memories back and hopefully go about our everyday lives again. Maybe a quest will help too." Kazuma suggested.

Maximus decided to indulge on the idea, thinking it would be a great way to get a look at all his surroundings and an idea of the area in general. Aqua was walking beside him and giving him as much information about the world he found himself on. She also decided to tell him about how they were growing close to each other since arriving. Several times she would smile at him optimistically and he would smile back in order to be nice. She could see he still had the same look in his eyes a stranger would have.

"Her eyes have the same deep blue sea color as Emily's. Could that be what I was really drawn to her before or was it only a part of the reason?" He said to himself. "The way she was acting when in the stables was that of a child, but who could blame her. After informing me about everything, I find it strange I would fall for her. I will admit it is slightly logical to take into consideration what she has said along with what little info Kazuma has given me. However, is it really enough to go through with it and jump into something you know nothing about. Maybe the rest of this party, I am a part of, will offer more insight and perhaps collaborate with their side of the story." He finished his thought.

The briefly stopped at a merchant who was selling crafting supplies and Aqua cheerfully grabbed what she needed. She gave the man some money from Maximus' purse, which had a small amount within it. They made their way to the Guild Hall and sat at one of the tables to wait for the other two.

During that time, Aqua hastily worked on repairing his coat. Maximus noticed she was taking extra care to ensure she did not mess up the gold edges and linings at the end of the sleeves and near the buttons.

The doors to the Guild opened, Darkness and Megumin walked through and began to look for the others. Darkness saw the three of them sitting at one of the tables and approached them.

"Oh, there you all are, it is good to see you are here waiting for our arrival." Darkness said feeling a little cheerful.

Maximus was enchanted by her beauty, seeing her long blonde hair in a ponytail that was shining in the little sunlight and her eyes of the same blue color as Aqua's. He was feeling a little nervous as she closed the distance between the two.

"If she is a member of the party, I am the leader of, how did I not fall for her instead. Her body is well built and has a voluptuous hourglass shape to it. Practically the desired physique for most men I know on my home world." He said to himself and took a deep breath.

She placed her hand on Maximus' shoulder. "So, Maximus, what great quest are we going on today?" She inquired as she began to feel excited at the prospect of going on another adventure where they could be tormented in some fashion that would please her wildest dreams.

"I feel so bad not knowing her name, cannot believe those two left out that detail." He said to himself and look up at her. "Who are you?" He quickly asked trying not to make it sound bad.

Darkness began to feel exhilarated by his simple question and she could not help herself but feel tormented in some way. She was unable to say anything as she hugged herself tightly.

Maximus took notice of her actions. "Hold on, something is wrong here." He said to himself. "What is she doing and more importantly why is she behaving like that?" Maximus said out loud.

"Uh yeah, that's Darkness; our Crusader who is also a Masochist." Kazuma explained.

Maximus took a moment to observer her a little further. "I am going with the idea it has something to do with someone who enjoys pain to become aroused?" He asked in a suggestive manner.

"You are quick to catch on." Kazuma replied.

"Wait, why are you talking as though he is not himself right now and as though he does not recognize me?" Megumin inquired.

Kazuma sighed in frustration. "Where do I even begin?"

After being informed about the situation both Darkness and Megumin were surprised he had endured such a fate.

"Wait how did he die, surely the Black Fang is not known for any poisonous effects that I have never heard of. Or is it you were severely injured and decided to not let it be showed in order to put on a brave face for the rest of us?" Darkness inquired and she got uncomfortably close to him. "Tell me, was there anyone who was waiting for you in the afterlife and if so, was it the Goddess Eris? Was she there to greet you, was she, was she?" She inquired further with an uncomfortable smile.

"Geez, how can he stand her being that close?" Kazuma asked himself.

Aqua took notice how Darkness was getting too close. "Hey, no need for you to get too close to him, give him his space!" She protested.

"Seriously, what is with this woman? She could be the picture-perfect wife were it not for her weird attitude she has." Maximus said to himself feeling uncomfortable being near Darkness.

Aqua saw the look of discomfort in his eyes and she guessed he was feeling disturbed by Darkness.

Maximus placed his hands upon Darkness' shoulders and gently pushed her away to a more comfortable distance.

"Okay, you can back away for now and no, there was no Goddess waiting for me in the Afterlife." He replied and turned to Megumin. "I did not get your name."

"My name is Megumin, I am an Arch-Wizard who wields Explosion. The most powerful, most feared, and most deadly spell in all the land." She responded, taking a pose. "This was far better than last time I introduced myself to him." She said to herself.

"Not sure why she needed to strike a pose and give herself that kind of introduction, but I am going with the idea that she does this routine wherever she goes." Maximus said to himself wondering why she went to great lengths to introduce herself in that fashion. "Okay, so the four of you are part of my party we formed some time ago and our ultimate objective is to defeat the Demon King?" He asked.

"Yes, if we can defeat him, we can become heroes of great renown. No one would dare make fun of us. And I can show him that those who are of the Crimson Demon Clan are far superior to him in every way." Megumin said striking another pose.

"Oh yes, to be made a plaything of the Demon King is something I shall greatly look forward to and is most certainly a Female Knight's duty." Darkness said.

"Aren't you guys forgetting something?" Aqua said to get their attention as she was still working on his coat. "The other day, Maximus said he would not pursue the Demon King at all. So, there's no point in going after him. However, he did say he would still go on quests in order to not stay complacent with this life." She finished.

"Wait, wouldn't you of all people want to get back to your Heavenly Realm?" Kazuma asked.

"That was before, during the first minutes of being here, but then," She stopped looking up at Maximus and he noticed she was eyeing him. She kept silent gazing upon him with some hope the two would somehow end up back where they started.

"Is something the matter and what did he mean by you going back to your realm?" Maximus inquired.

"You know, I'm getting hungry, let's order something before figuring out what we want to do today." Kazuma said and everyone agreed.

Everyone began to look at the menus that were brought over by one of the waitress' who was flagged down by Kazuma.

During their discussion of what to eat, Aqua lightly tugged on Maximus' shirt and leaned toward him. "I was able to finish repairing your coat." She said with a small smile.

"Huh, oh, thank you." He said feeling grateful to her and smile a little.

She turned to pick up the menu and looked at what she wanted to choose to eat. He noticed she repaired his coat so well, there was no indication it had been damaged at all.

"She's really great at mending my coat back to being as if I had just bought it. She has got quite the talent for someone like her. She should look into opening a shop of some sort." He said to himself feeling impressed with her work.

Aqua noticed his amazement of how well she repaired it and her smile grew a little more.

Maximus looked at her for a moment then turned to each of his party members, starting with Darkness.

"Too bad her beauty is dwarfed by her Masochist ways or else she would be someone worth investing time in." He said and turned to Aqua. "Cannot see too much that is wrong with her at the moment. Sure, she cried a lot earlier and seemed to show a little territorial of me when Darkness got too close, but after being told about our history it is understandable. I wonder what could cause me to lose all my memories and is there a way to get them back." He paused for a few moments to glance back at Aqua.

Aqua noticed he had turned to her. "Is something wrong Maximus?" She inquired with the same smile a moment ago.

"Since you and I were the closest, I was wondering if you could show me around the area and maybe help me regain my memories?" He inquired.

Aqua's smile grew noticeably. "Sure, I can help with that. I am a Goddess after all and should show her wayward sheep back to the fold, sort of speak." She giggled.

"If everything else is true about the party and all the events leading to the other day, then it is safe to assume she is a Goddess and the two of us were growing close. But I better see about getting my memories back before jumping fully into this." Maximus said to himself, keeping his eyes on her before turning to the menu.

They all finished their breakfast and proceeded to the Quest Board near the entrance. The board was empty and only the most bizarre of quests were left on it. One had made mention of needing a guinea pig for experiments that a high-level wizard was calling for. The others were dealing with the toads and various rodents around the city.

"Well, if anything else, we can always go back to slaying the Giant Toads." Kazuma laughed at the idea of suggesting it.

"No, anything but that, I don't want to go after them anymore!" Megumin protested the idea.

"Seriously Kazuma, you are the worst for suggesting that at all!" Aqua cried and quickly latched onto Maximus. "Please, do not ask me to go on another Giant Toad Kill Quest again."

Maximus could see the terror in her eyes that begged him not to accept it.

"Are these toads on this world that bad?" He inquired of her.

Aqua stopped and looked up at him with tears in her eyes and her face puffed up in a cute way.

"Yes, they are, last time we didn't even complete it without being ingested by those horrible creatures." She answered and began crying again and buried her face into his chest.

"I fail to see the problem in that!" Darkness said. "To be eaten by a Giant Toad is something I would greatly look forward to!" She shouted with anticipated joy.

She turned around to grab hold of the parchment and ran for the desk to inform one of the staff members.

"No, Darkness, wait!" Aqua, Kazuma, and Megumin protested to her.

"It's too late, they are already expecting us to rid the area of five toads, such a low number. Come on, we do not have a moment to lose!" She shouted with cheer and headed for the door.

Aqua began to break down more and Maximus placed his hand on her head.

"Don't worry, if they are that bad, stay by my side and I will look after you." He said.

His words rang deep in her ears as she remembered the last time, he said those words.

"It's almost as though we are starting all over again. If it is the only way in order for him to regain his memories," She paused her thought for a moment sniffling her nose. "Then so be it." She began to feel the terror mount and at the same time begin to disappear.

"Oh, come on, aren't you going to say anything?" Kazuma inquired.

"We might as well get it over with. Should the quest go against us, I will ensure everyone's survival." He said and began to follow Darkness.

"I am glad he has agreed with me, this shall be a glorious day!" Darkness said to herself.

"Just stay by his side, that is all I have to do." Aqua said to herself.

Later on, in the same valley the original three started their first Kill Quest, Darkness was drooling at the prospect of being eaten by one of the Giant Toads. She had already unsheathed her sword and waited for them to appear. Maximus had decided to wait in the rear of the group with Aqua by his side, ensuring she followed his instructions. Megumin was at the middle on standby to charge up her spell and Kazuma was behind Darkness. The group had waited what felt like hours and not a single toad made an appearance.

"I wonder what's taking them so long to hop on out into view?" Maximus asked.

"Well, last time you would go into the forest to scare them out, since they like to snatch goats from cover whenever one is close enough. Or they would also leap around to find food." Aqua explained.

"Is there a preferred time they are most active?" He inquired of her.

"As it stands now, they are more than likely going into hibernation than leaping around. This is the fall after all, so it would make since they would be less active." Aqua briefly explained.

"I kind of figured since it does feel a little chilly for them." He said. "I guess Darkness will not be able to get swallowed whole by one of them. She sounded so annoying professing she would want that to happen to her." He said to himself.

The next moment they heard a succession of vibrations off in the distance and when they turned to the direction it came from, they all saw five toads leaping towards them.

"You are not joking around when you say "Giant" in the name." Maximus said feeling surprised by the size of the creatures headed their way.

"Look Maximus, they come for us. I shall take the brunt of their attacks head on!" Darkness shouted with a serious tone that barely hid the excitement on her face.

"Darkness, wait we need to stick together!" Kazuma shouted.

Darkness ignored him and charge for the toads. "Have at you foul creature!" She shouted.

The next moment the closest toad instantly swallowed her before she could land a strike.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but it looked to me as though she let herself be captured. If that is how our Crusader is conducting herself, I am amazed we are still alive at this point." Maximus said.

Aqua took hold of Maximus' arm and quivered in fear as she remembered the last time she was swallowed by a toad. "Maximus, you will protect me, right?" She asked as tears of pain began to form.

"She really is petrified with these things. I guess she wasn't kidding when she said her and Megumin were swallowed whole." Maximus said to himself noticing her fear. "Don't worry, I'll deal with these toads right now. Wait here." He instructed and she nodded her head.

Darkness briefly poked her head out. "Do not worry about me… I am doing just fine… really, I have this creature right where I want it." She said as she was pulled in and poked out of its mouth.

"Very well, if you insist." Maximus said as he was taking a few steps forward.

He raised his hands and twirled them around each other and at the same time the other four toads were picked up by a twister, which formed instantly after he started using his hand magic. The winds howled and began to lift the heavy creatures from the ground and into the tornado.

"Megumin, use your explosion spell!" Kazuma shouted.

"Nice Maximus, you lined them up for me." She said with glee. "Darkness blacker than black, darker than dark. Merge with my deep crimson, I beseech thee. The time of awakening cometh. Justice, fallen upon the infallible boundary, appear now as an intangible distortion! Explosion!"

The moment she was done with her incantation the spell blasted the toads to ash. The loud thundering crack of the soundwave rippled through the area and brushed against them all. Maximus was impressed with the spell and turned towards her. Almost instantly Megumin fell flat on her face.

"What's wrong with her, does the spell consume that much mana because it is so powerful?" He inquired feeling a little surprised to see her fall after using the spell.

"No, she can only use that spell once a day." Aqua quickly answered.

"I think she should use other spells instead of that one." He suggested out loud.

"She only wants to use Explosion spells and nothing else." Kazuma shot at him feeling embarrassed and frustrated.

Darkness was still popping in and out of the toad that swallowed her as she screamed in extasy. Maximus wanted to let her stay in that state viewing it as some form of comedy.

"Should we go help Darkness now?" Megumin asked as she was being picked up by Kazuma.

"No, let her stay there, I don't think she's had her fill yet." Maximus said with a smirk. "What a disturbing set of party members I am the leader of. One likes to enjoy pain, one is a fanatic about a single spell she can only employ once a day, one claims to be a Goddess; who I am almost sure she probably is one and still trying to figure out about and how I fell for her, and the last one is a less than average boy with what seems like no ambition after observing this little Kill Quest. What have I gotten myself into and how did I manage them all before?" He wondered to himself.

The others were surprised he would consider that option and not go free her. The next moment they noticed she had not popped her head out for several moments.

"Uh, I think she is about to be digested." Aqua said pointing at the large toad. "Do you think now would be a good time to help her?" She asked.

Maximus quickly snapped his fingers and a lightning bolt shot down from the few clouds above and zapped the creature. The large amount of volts running through it eventually caused its vital organs to burst and fell over lifeless. Darkness slide out with a little scorched marks and he was surprised she was barely harmed.

"At least she can take a hit." Maximus said to himself.

"That was exhilarating, I wish to experience that pain from you again. The sting of your betrayal must be thrusted upon me once more!" She shouted at him as she picked herself up from the ground.

"No, we are done for the day, now let us head back to the Guild and be done with this quest." He said feeling disturbed by her attitude.

They arrived back at the Guild Hall and met with Luna at the desk.

"Oh, hello everyone, how did your quest go?" She inquired and noticed Maximus was not at the head of the group.

"It was so satisfying I was swallowed by one of those creatures and the experience was overwhelming!" Darkness shouted with joy before Luna could approach Maximus.

"Uh, okay, but why are you still covered in its saliva?" Luna inquired.

"That's because she refused to wash off before collecting the reward." Kazuma quickly answered. "Seriously, you think she would have wanted to if she were an ordinary person. Me and Maximus nearly faced some serious backlash while walking over here." He said to himself remembering how the people were looking at them.

"I wonder what's going on, it almost seems like he is not his usual self." Luna wondered to herself and approached him. "Maximus, I was wondering if I could have a word with you." She said to him.

Maximus turned to face her and she noticed his eyes did not have the same welcoming gaze.

"Uh, are you someone else I know?" He inquired. "If I somehow did, how did I not end up with her? She has quite the revealing shirt, which is something I am not too sure about, but her eyes sure draw you in." He said to himself.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Luna inquired as she was being caught off guard.

"Here's the thing, last night he died and somehow when he came back to life, he lost all his memories of being here." Megumin quickly informed her.

"Wait what?!" Luna said feeling terrible for his situation.

"That's pretty much what happened." Kazuma said.

"Then you really don't remember me at all?" She asked with a little sadness.

"He does not have any memory of us at all and he briefly made mention of being from another world." Kazuma added and stopped himself from continuing. "I probably should not have said that." He said to himself.

"What does he mean by that statement?" Luna inquired. "Oh, by the way, I am Luna, I run the desk here." She said holding out her hand.

Maximus took hold of her hand. "My name is Maximus and yes, I am from another world." He introduced himself to her.

Aqua was beginning to feel a little jealous but decided to let it go for now.

"It's a pleasure to meet you again." She said and before she could continue another Guild Staff member approached her and whispered in her ear. "Oh okay, well it seems duty calls. Until next time." She said and walked away.

"I wonder what could be going on?" Maximus said to himself after noticing the slight fear in her eyes. "How many people here know of me?" He turned to Aqua.

"Well, after you defeated Verdia, one of the Demon King's Generals, you are renowned across the whole town." She answered.

"You and Luna were also getting close to each other." Kazuma said feeling jealous about previous events.

"Wait hold on, are you serious? Just how many women was I getting close to?" Maximus inquired with a surprised look on his face.

"It almost seemed like you were going to have Luna, Aqua, Chris, and maybe Darkness, be a part of your very own Harem." Kazuma said feeling a little jealous.

"Wait hold on, why would I want to do that?" He asked in a protesting manner.

"I would not mind that at all. To be counted among one of your wives so long as you abuse me every day, we are together!" Darkness seemed to shout with joy and Maximus was feeling uncomfortable with her attitude again. "Oh yes, to feel those strong traitorous hands violate me would be the ultimate joy!" She continued.

"God, does this woman not stop with her weird ways." Kazuma said to himself.

"I'd rather die than be expected to abuse a wife just so she could have her enjoyment. Not to mention I rather doubt I would even want to consider the Harem option in the first place." He quickly said. "Besides, no sane individual would want to choose that option at all. To split your time up equally among many wives and at any time either of them feel your time spent with them is unfair they will take it out on you is something to consider in the long run. A Harem is by far the most ridiculous idea ever conceived." He said to himself and shivered at the thought.

"Emergency, emergency, we need all available Adventurers assemble at the East Gates immediately!" Luna's voice echoed across the town.

"I wonder what this could be about?" Maximus wondered to himself as he and the others made their way to the gates.

Once there they saw in the distance, a massive horde of the Undead stumbling their way towards the town.

"Where did they come from?" Kazuma inquired feeling a little fear creep up.

"This is going to get ugly." The Mohawk guy said.

They all waited there and began to prepare for battle.


	15. Chapter 15

Battle Before the Town:

Maximus used his magic to form a bird familiar to fly over the horde in the distance to get a head count. Aqua noticed what he had done and wondered how he could have done so without knowing how to perform such a task. Maximus used his magic to see through the eyes of the familiar and saw the horde was far large than before. He exited out of the familiar and kept it flying over head to survey the forthcoming battle. Turning round about he noticed no one was preparing for the conflict at all.

"Are they seriously just going to stand here and watch and not prepare for what's coming?" He wondered to himself and approached the guy with the Mohawk. "You," He said to get his attention. "Gather some people and go into the town to round up all the men and young men who able to wield a spear and sword." He instructed.

"What, why should we listen to you?" Mohawk inquired.

"Because I know how to fight against a horde during my time living on my world and it's obvious no one else is doing anything about this at all. So, if you want to live from this encounter, I suggest you follow all my orders." Maximus barked at him.

Mohawk quickly nodded his head and began sprinting with all haste.

Maximus turned to Kazuma and Megumin. "You two grab some people and start drawing water from the river in town with all haste." He ordered.

"Right." Megumin responded and before Kazuma could say anything she took hold of his sleeve to drag him along.

"Aqua," He turned to her.

"Yes." She responded.

"Time to prove to me you are a Goddess, when the water gets here, I need you to bless it so it will have Holy Properties." He said to her.

"That will be easy for a Goddess such as I." She said in a boastful way.

"She better be right about this." He said to himself.

"Darkness," He said turning to her and she looked at him. "I need you to grab some of the others to quickly find as much equipment for this battle as possible. Bring swords, shields, and spears here."

Darkness nodded and sprinted with several people to the blacksmith and within the marketplace to gather what was needed.

Maximus turned to others within the large party.

"I need all of those who can cast spells at the rear, anyone who can wield a sword, spear, and shield to take their place out in front, now!" He ordered.

"But, most of us aren't even the right class for those weapons." An adventurer protested.

"You are now, unless you wish to be undead fodder feel free to run after them and die out there." Maximus shot back.

"I brought the first batch of water!" Kazuma shouted.

"Good, Aqua, start blessing it and once done spread it upon the field before us about fifty yards out." Maximus instructed and turned around. "I need someone who can cast or create wall spells."

"I can Maximus, I used to be an adventurer." Wiz said rushing towards him.

"Wait, are you someone else I know?" He inquired.

Wiz had a confused look on her face.

"He died last night and lost his memories of meeting everyone and living here!" Aqua quickly informed her.

"That's terrible, we can discuss this later, I may have something that can help him." She said to her and turned to Maximus. "My name is Wiz and I can cast an ice wall." She informed him.

"My name is Maximus, but you already knew that. The ice wall is better than fire anyway. I need you to form a pair of walls to funnel them right to us and surround the entire town in case they should try to flank us. Not to mention try and get into the town." He instructed.

"Right. Cursed Ice Prison." She shouted to cast her spell.

The next moment two walls of ice formed in a V shape in front of the whole group and began to encircle the town.

"Aqua, I need you to bless the ice walls as well." He instructed her.

She quickly nodded her head as the first batch of water was being dumped on the ground before them.

Moments later, Mohawk returned with a host of men and at the same time Darkness arrived with several people carrying weapons and others were pushing multiple carts of equipment.

"We got the next batch of water here for you." Megumin informed him.

"All of you who are chosen to be at the front grab a shield, sword, and a spear. Douse the blades and shields with the water once it is blessed." Maximus instructed and walked up to the front of everyone. "Listen up, I need two lines of Pikemen form in between the open gap of these ice walls now. The second line form in between the men on the first line, pikes forward." He ordered further.

The men from the town and several of the adventurers formed ranks. Maximus stood behind them noticing the Undead were beginning to move at a quicker pace.

"They are seriously riled up about something." He barely whispered.

"I have finished with blessing the ice, what should I do now?" She inquired.

"Continue to bless the water as it arrives, also, do you know powerful spells that can aid us when we get overrun.?" He inquired.

"I can use Turn Undead to defeat them with ease." She said as she was blessing the next batch of water.

"Anything else that might be useful for the Pikemen?" He inquired further.

"I can boost their stats for a while with several ability boost spells too. Oh, and if any of them die, I can easily cast Resurrection to bring them back to life." She finished remembering all her spells.

"Wait, you can revive people?" Maximus asked feeling surprised.

"Yeah, for a high-level Goddess such as I, it would be easy to do that." She informed him.

"Are you serious, we could have avoided him losing his memories if you used that on him earlier!" Kazuma shouted at her.

Aqua began to feel bad and tears quickly form. "I am sorry okay I was too wrapped up in the moment with my feelings towards him and forgot about it!"

"Enough, we'll worry about this another time, right now we need to focus on them!" Maximus interrupted the two. "Front line takes a knee and everyone raise and lock your shield close together as though you are preventing air to slip through." He ordered and turned to his left. "Darkness, you lead the rest of those with swords, if they break through the lines; cut them down before they can cause too much havoc."

"Uh, right." She said with little confidence and Maximus took notice.

"I wonder what's with her, she had no joy in her voice just now, I hope this doesn't come back to bite us." He said to himself.

"They're starting to run towards us faster." One of the men shouted.

"Gentlemen, hold steady!" Maximus Shouted.

The Undead began to close the distance at a faster pace and soon they entered the funneled passage to them. Several of them brushed up against the ice and others started to climb it. The moment each of them touched the walls, they immediately burst into flames. The moment the others were about fifty yards away, the first of them burst into flames as well. The blue fire engulfed them immediately when they touched the ground that was drenched with the holy water Aqua blessed.

"Wow, you really are a Goddess after all." Maximus said and Aqua heard him.

"I told you so." She replied to him giggling.

"Are you sure it's not because she's an Arch-Priestess?" Megumin said feeling a little embarrassed that someone might hear.

"But I am a Goddess!" Aqua protested.

Maximus turned to the group of casters.

"If any of you can cast fireballs, launch them deeper into the horde to slow down their advance." He said to them and they began casting their spells.

Maximus raised his left hand and used his magic to summon materials from the ground to create a bow and an arrow. He focused his aura into the arrow and it began to have a while glow to it.

"How did he do that?" Aqua whispered out in amazement.

He aimed his bow at an angle in the air and let loose the single arrow.

"Multiply thousand-fold." He whispered.

As the arrow flew over the horde, it instantly multiplied into a thousand arrows that flocked across the sky and rained down upon the horde. Each arrow transferred the Holy Element within it and each corpse slowly became lifeless.

"How are you able to do that?" Aqua asked him.

"Simple, once I learned of my heritage back home, I was able to discover I can use Holy Magic more effectively than normal Mages on my home world. From there I can concentrate it into anything to give it Holy Properties." He explained and let loose another arrow.

She noticed with that one it did not multiply and when it struck an Undead body it exploded. The explosion sent holy debris all around it and cut down many of the bodies within the horde.

"At this rate, we may not have to clash against them" Megumin said as she noticed their numbers were dwindling.

The next moment the horde stopped in its tracks and soon a rumbling sound rippled through the earth. Everyone looked around to see what could cause the commotion. Soon after a horn sounded off and Maximus used his familiar to survey their enemy. Using its eyes, he saw a mighty dust cloud driving through the Undead.

"Can't tell what it is barreling towards us, but I better not take any chances." He said to himself and caused his familiar to dive bomb on top of the massive object.

The moment it found its mark, an explosion occurred and the massive object was revealed. It was a giant siege tower being pulled on its side by a number of Undead Oxen. Some of the debris managed to land conveniently close to and in between the two armies. Several of the Undead realized this and began to throw more of the debris closer together until it was enough for them to pass over.

Maximus took notice what they were doing and tried his best to let loose several multitudes of Holy Arrows upon them. After several times, he noticed their numbers seem to increase since his familiar's dive bomb maneuver.

"Where are they getting these numerous bodies from?" He wondered to himself. "Aqua, get ready to cast Turn Undead on my mark."

She stood next to him ready at a moment's notice.

The Undead began to sprint through the debris field and once they were close Maximus turned to her.

"Cast it upon the ones behind them!" He ordered.

"Turn Undead!" She shouted.

The next moment a large circle appeared below them and soon their bodies were disintegrated. Maximus took hold of a bucket of Holy Water and threw it in the air. He raised and balled up his left fist causing the waters to instantly boil into a vapor of fog. The next wave of Undead charged forth and once they began to inhale the moisture, their bodies began to burn from within.

He quickly created another pair of bird familiars and set them loose into the sky. He could see there was still a great host of Undead left and they were beginning to sprint towards them, seemingly all at once. Aqua quickly blessed another batch of water and Maximus used his magic to have several buckets emptied out. The water twisted its way to the opening between the two armies and splashed upon the ground. He caused another bucket to empty and made another vapor cloud form.

"That will keep them out for a little longer while I find out who is in control of this Undead Army." He said.

He entered the mind of the familiars flying over head and began to once again survey the battlefield. He noticed their numbers dwindled to half of what they were at the start of the battle. He looked around and still saw no sign of commanders or at least a singular person who could be controlling the horde.

Aqua used another Turn Undead spell and noticed Maximus was still in his state of using the familiar. Soon there was nothing left but silence and when the Holy Fog cleared, they all beheld the rest of the horde waiting at the far end.

"Let's go after them, their numbers are manageable." One of the adventurers shouted as several others agreed.

Darkness saw Maximus' state and couldn't help herself at wanting to join them.

"Yes, let us charge forth!" She shouted with joy and led the charge.

"Wait Darkness, don't leave!" Kazuma shouted to get her attention, but it was too late.

Nearly half of the men, who were a mixture of Pikemen and those with swords, ran towards their enemy. Maximus saw this within his familiar's vision and quickly exited out.

"What is she doing, Maximus never gave the command to charge?" Aqua wondered to herself.

"That idiot, she's going to get people killed for this." Maximus said with anger in his tone.

The group ran into the small amount of Undead, cutting them down as they made their way into the horde. Maximus saw to his disbelief Darkness was missing every single foe that crossed her path. At the same time, she was on the receiving end of strikes from her foes. A part of her was feeling embarrassed, as though she had forgotten about how poor her accuracy was.

"Am I seeing things or is she unable to hit any of her targets that passes by?" Maximus wondered to himself.

Moments later, the men who had charged with her were starting to be overwhelmed and cut down by the vast number of Undead. Darkness continued forward not looking back, enjoying the thrill of taking multiple hits and still continue on. She was smiling with a discomforting expression on her face, she never noticed what was happening behind her.

Maximus jumped up in the air, charged up an attack within himself, and landed near the majority of the men who were on the verge of being cut down.

"Heaven's Blaze!" Maximus shouted out loud.

The moment hit the ground with his feet a wave of blue fire and lightning burst forth, engulfing the Undead to ash. He motioned his hands and the attack soon formed into a giant blue fire serpent with lightning jolting around it. He waved his hands across him and it slithered around to purge the rest of their foes.

Darkness saw the attack and wanted to be struck by it and ran for it. The moment she was about to touch it, the attack instantly dissipated.

"Oh, if only I were to be engulfed by such an attack like that. The joys of feeling the burning sensation overwhelm me. Tell me, whose attack was that and why did you let it stop?" She demanded with crazed excitement.

The next moment she turned round about and saw the majority of men she led into the heart of the horde laying on the ground, dead. The few who remained were being treated by Maximus. His healing magic was interesting to those who were watching it. They saw the skin on both sides of the cut move around as though someone was stitching them back together.

"Hey Darkness, what are you doing?" Aqua inquired of her.

Darkness was kneeling down praying for the souls who lives were lost today.

"I am simply saying a prayer for the men who had died in battle." She responded.

Maximus was a short distance away and heard her explaining about a handful of individuals she knew. He continued on healing the last of the injured as he was feeling furious of her actions.

Once everyone was healed of their wounds, Maximus turned to Darkness and approached her. His face was overflowing with anger and she hadn't noticed his approach yet as she finished. The moment he was in arms distance and before anyone could say a word, Maximus struck her across the face.

"Do you realize what you have done!" His voice was on the verge of shouting. "Look around you, see what your stupid actions have resulted for your inability to contain your senseless urge to experience pain in unimaginable ways. You selfish peacock, you have no right to call yourself a Knight or a Crusader for that matter."

"I fail to see what the problem is, we did win the battle did we not?" Darkness shot back before he could go on.

"That's not the point!" He snapped at her and Aqua flinched hearing his familiar anger echoing from his voice as Darkness did not quiver. "You charged straight into the teeth of that horde and nearly got yourself killed along with the men you were leading. If you were half the Knight you claimed to be, you would have realized the tactic I was employing was to keep everyone safe. Holy Ice Walls, Holy Water splashed onto the ground to make it fatal for those Undead to step on, and Holy Vapor from the waters that would have been breathed into and fall onto the flesh of them would have kept everyone safe. However, your stupidity put us at risk, you are lucky I was here in the first place to take the lead!" He raised his voice and waked away.

Darkness saw the results of her actions and surprisingly during his rant to her, she did not feel a little excited. She sat there in silence looking over at the dead and began to cry.

"You know, I could cast resurrection on the fallen to bring them back to life." Aqua said to him after catching up to walk at his side.

"As much as that sounds like a good idea, no, she needs to be responsible for her actions and not have some way to escape that inevitable backlash she would get. Whether it be from their relatives or someone else. Although, it is likely I will be on the receiving end of it since I was the one who was taking control of our forces. Either way, do not give her that release." He instructed her.

"But,"

"But nothing," He snapped back before Aqua could go on. "What if it was the five of us on some quest and I was unconscious. What if she decided to indulge on her Masochist ways then and there and gets herself killed or worse, one of you?" He said as he was feeling a little concerned underneath his anger.

Aqua took notice at the same concerned look in his eyes he once had for her. "There it is again, that same look from before." She said to herself.

Later on, everyone was within the Guild Hall celebrating the victory's end. Many people were cheering away as though the battle never happened. Maximus was sitting calmly as the others were drinking and living up the night. He could not help but wonder if the men, majority of whom were adventurers, even had families or loved ones in town as not a single person went up to berate Darkness for her actions.

"Maybe people know she would enjoy the bashing and decided to not bother her. Still, it would have been preferable to see it happen, just so she knows the seriousness of life in general. Oh well, might as well leave it at that and enjoy the night." Maximus thought to himself.

Later that night, after helping Aqua to their stables and laid her down upon the makeshift bed, he sat there wondering about their situation. About them not being able to find a place of their own, although he now thought there would be some after the deaths of a few adventurers. He also thought about their relationship and wondered how they grew towards each other.

"Maximus are you okay?" She inquired with a tired gaze after noticing he was still up.

"Huh, oh yeah, I am alright. I was just thinking about something." He replied.

"About what?" She asked yawning.

"It's nothing too important, you should get back to sleep." He said.

"Only if you join me, it's getting a little chilly again." She said.

Maximus grinned a little. "Maybe this is how we were growing towards one another or at least one of many, who knows how much. The two of us seeking comfort in an uncomfortable situation. I will say she has some kind of charm about her. The way she acts is almost like an immature person or maybe a spoiled teen I guess would best describe it." He paused his thought and laid next to her.

He moved down to be beside and gently pressed against her and move the blankets over the two of them. She grinned a little more feeling as though he was little by little growing back to her before going to sleep.

"From the stories she and Kazuma told me, she is completely helpless when it comes to adventuring. Someone who needs a lot of oversight from one who could complete her. However, after seeing her repair my coat she may have talents that reside elsewhere to consider. Well, I should get some sleep, I have got a few things to do in the next few days." He said to himself and went to sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

Investigating the Cause of the Undead Horde:

The next morning Maximus awoke with Aqua facing him. Seeing the peaceful yet hilarious position she was in made him laugh a little and grinned. He saw her mouth was open and a carefree expression on her face as though she was enjoying a dream. He dared not move to disturb her slumber.

The next moment the rooster crowed at first morning's light and the annoying sound echoed across the whole farm, slightly woke her up. She opened her eyes and saw he was awake.

"Hey, how long have you been awake?" She inquired.

"Not but mere moments before the rooster sounded off." He said and sat up. "You know, you never did show me around town."

She smiled a little and sat up in haste. "Well, allow me to give you the grand tour." She said feeling excited.

The two made their way into town and she began to show him several places they had been to before. In the marketplace they indulged on several food delicacies from fried toads to sea foods that were brought in. Maximus noticed she was carrying a large smile the whole time and she did not dare let go of his arm except to eat at a couple of spots.

The sun rose in the middle of the sky to indicate it was a midday and the two were laying down under a tree near the river. She sat up and saw another couple across the ways. She noticed the man was resting his head upon the woman's lap.

"I wonder if people who are serious about each other do this sort of thing. Then again, I do remember seeing that quite often when looking down upon Kazuma's world. So, maybe I should give it a try." She thought to herself and turned to Maximus. "Hey, Maximus, will you place your head on my lap with your legs stretched out to the river?" She asked.

Maximus looked towards her and noticed the genial and welcoming look in her eyes that was accompanied by a grin.

"Uh, sure." He replied not sure why she wanted to have him be like that.

He maneuvered himself into position and moments later soon felt relaxed. The softness of her skin was far more than he expected. Her thighs were well toned with the right amount of firmness that nearly rivaled a firm pillow. She noticed his whole body was not so tense as before and she began to rub his forehead.

"I don't know why, but the soreness I felt this morning seems to be dissipating. I think we should do this more often." He said looking into her eyes.

"Do you think it could be the stables cobblestone that is causing you these pains?" She inquired feeling a little concerned for his well-being.

"Maybe, but whatever is causing it we can worry about it another time. In the meantime, we should see about finding a suitable bed. I am not even sure how I was able to put up with it for as long as you say I did. Not to mention you, were you not feeling comfortable every morning like I was?" He inquired wondering about her experience during the mornings rise.

"Well, now that you mention it, I never felt too bad when I would wake up every morning." She replied looking up to think about it briefly.

"That is good to hear, but strange that only I am feeling the overwhelming soreness and not you. But I am glad you are not in any sort of pain." He said.

The next moment before they could continue the other three approached them.

"Maximus, Aqua," Megumin shouted to get their attention and they turned to her direction. "What have you two been doing, we were trying to look for you two for a while now. Also, why are you laying down with your head on her lap?" She inquired.

"Why do you want to know and why did you have to ruin our bonding moment?" Aqua snapped at them.

"Well, Maximus did tell me once that if two people in the party were going to have a relationship, just ensure you act professional with the others. So, it only makes sense they would want some alone time." Kazuma said.

"What do you mean by that?" Megumin asked not making any connection.

"Come on, surely you saw it before. The times he would give her a little more attention than the others. Not to mention she was having him carry her to town the other day." Kazuma explained.

"Well, you are here now, let us get this over with. What's the big emergency that I can sense in your voice?" Maximus inquired still laying his head on Aqua's lap and eyes closed.

"We have a new quest to go on!" Megumin shouted enthusiastically.

"Really, what kind of quest?" Aqua asked.

"The Guild wanted us to go and search for the location the Undead Army originated from and no one else wants to go out there." Kazuma informed them.

"I wonder why that is?" Maximus asked out loud.

"Who knows." Kazuma replied and had paused to wonder the same question. "Maybe there is something out there no one is mentioning that might scare even some of the bravest amongst them." He finished with his hand on his chin.

"Well, shall we head out right now Maximus? Can we, can we?" Darkness asked with her usual crazed smile nearly pressing her face against his and her hands grasping his coat.

"Hey, what's with you Darkness, don't get too close to him, give him his space!" Aqua shouted at her and Darkness shot a quick glance her way. "What's with her all of a sudden, getting so close to him in that manner and trying to make a declaration of intent with that smile of hers?" She said to herself.

"Well, that ruined the mood of my personal time with Aqua." Maximus said and began to stand up.

"Uh, hey,"

Before Aqua could continue, he stretched his hand down to help her stand up from the ground.

"Don't worry, we can pick this up later." He whispered and winked at her.

"I'll hold you to that." She smiled back and flicked his forehead.

"Well it's not like we could do anything being outnumbered three to two on this one." Maximus continued.

"Actually, I accepted it for all of us." Darkness said.

"Well, now I am not so sure about this at all." Maximus said feeling a little annoyed.

"Not that I am complaining, but what is going on with you lately, this is the second quest you have accepted on our behalf without even consulting the whole party?" Megumin asked.

"Please don't tell me you are hoping to experience more pain just to satisfy your desires for pleasure." Maximus said folding his arms with a hint of annoyance.

"Th-that is not the case!" Darkness protested. "I only wish to ensure the safety of everyone in town and to find the location where the Undead had originated from. Besides, it is not in the Knight's Code to seek out after pleasures." She said turning to the side pressing her arms together and rubbing her hands with a nervous look in her eyes. Her cheeks were turning red as the rose and they all could see she was lying.

"Nice cover genius." Kazuma said.

"Here stands Darkness, the Hypocritical Knight. Honestly, I thought all knights were sworn to honor, duty, loyalty, and to never tell a lie." Maximus said to berate her a little and began to walk away. "Come on, let's get this over with." He finished. "That way Aqua and I could get back to enjoying each other's company." He said to himself.

Darkness giggled a little after being berated by him.

They all caught up to him and began to walk where the general direction the Undead had marched from as well as seeing the footprints leading into the distance. Aqua took hold of his right arm to walk beside him and the two grinned at each other. They followed the road for some distance and both Megumin and Kazuma noticed they were walking down the same road the two would go every day to fire Explosion spells on Verdia's castle.

"Oh, hey, I just realized this is the same road we used to travel to that old castle." Kazuma said out loud starting to feel a little nervous.

"Really, you are serious when you say an actual castle?" Maximus inquired of him feeling a little excited.

"Yeah." Kazuma said noticing his excitement.

"Why do you sound a little excited?" Aqua inquired.

"When I was a kid I always wanted to live in a castle." Maximus confessed. "Me and my friends would play in a tree and have it be whatever we wanted it to be Those were fun times with them." He chuckled remembering his friends and could not help but wonder how they were doing.

"I can't really imagine you being a kid, considering how you are now." Aqua giggled.

"Seriously, are you sure you weren't born as you are now." Kazuma joked.

"Believe it or not, I was once a small lad like yourself in my youth. That is before I eventually grew up over time to what I am now." He said remembering how some of his friends reacted to his height.

"Maximus, Kazuma!" Darkness quickly shouted with joy.

"That's our names." Kazuma replied.

"Look there, upon that hilltop, a castle!" She said unable to contain her excitement.

Maximus focused his gaze upon it and soon saw the damages it had endured. "That's quite the castle," He paused for a moment to study it further.

"Are you sure, it looks as though it has gone through the ringer a couple of times." Aqua said with her hand over her eyes, studying it closer and could barely see the damages from the distance they stood from it.

"From this moment henceforth, this castle is mine." Maximus said with a childish grin forming on his face as he continued towards it.

"What, no, you cannot claim it for yourself!" Megumin protested. "Besides, what if that castle is being used for some other purpose or has already been claimed by someone else?" She inquired as she tried to hide her face.

"Wait, don't tell me this is the same castle Kazuma told me about. The same structure Verdia, one of the Demon King's Generals, was stationed at to watch over Axel for some reason? That very same one?" Maximus inquired noticing she was hiding her face. "Also, why are you hiding your face as though you are ashamed to admit something?"

"Well,"

Before Megumin could answer Kazuma placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a thumbs up. She nodded her head, trusting him.

"You see, the reason why she blows up that castle is because," He paused to take a deep breath. "She is super crazy about casting the Explosion spell and ever since she started to cast that spell onto it, she can't seem to get nowhere near the same satisfaction when blowing up a random open plain!" He shouted as he pointed at her.

"Th-that's not true!" She shouted at him feeling betrayed. "Well, actually he is right. Ever since I casted my magic upon something so big and hard, it wouldn't bring me any satisfaction at all if I cast my Explosion magic on anything else." She painfully admitted while holding her hat down over her face.

"Does she get aroused by doing that, how disturbing this little kid is." Maximus said to himself feeling disturbed by her. "And here I thought she would have been just an ordinary girl who was a little obsessed with magic, but to go that far." He shivered in disgust. "Well, it is my castle now so, no more blowing it up." He said and continued on towards it.

"B-but that is not fair! What else am I supposed to cast my spell on?" She whined like a young child who was punished.

"You will live without casting the spell I am sure of it." He shot back.

"N-no, a Crimson Demon must cast Explosion every day, for if not; it will die!" She informed him with a serious tone, in an effort to bluff her claim.

"What?!" Maximus stopped and turned back at her. "You just made that up, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't." She said with a serious look in her eyes.

"Yes, you did." He shot back.

"No, I am serious!" She shouted with desperation.

"Ha, I knew it, with the way you just shouted confirmed it so, no more blowing up my castle." He said and continued.

"Fine then, Explosion!" She shouted and fired her spell upon the castle.

Before Maximus could react, the castle was rocked with a powerful explosion spell.

"What are you doing, that was going to be my new place to live, since it would have been a lot better than sleeping in some stupid stable! The thought of being in an actual bed would have been warmer and cozier to sleep in than some silly haystack! Plus, why did you use your one attack spell here and now?!" Maximus shouted in anger as the cloud of smoke engulfed it from view.

Megumin fell to the ground and giggled. "Burn to ash. If I cannot have it to use my Explosion magic on it, then you can't have it to live in either." The next moment her body was feeling tingling sensations all over it. "Wow, that felt amazing."

Maximus stood there feeling as though he were a child that had a precious new toy ripped away from him. Aqua stood next to him seeing the devastated look on his face and felt a little sad for him.

"Well, if nothing else, we can always try to see if there are any houses available in town." She suggested in a cheerful way to ease his discomfort.

"And there lies the problem, even after checking this morning before meeting up with you two, there still wasn't anything available." Kazuma said feeling the same discomfort as Maximus. He too was thinking about how awesome it would be to live in a castle. "I was going to be warm for the first time since the fall cold nights started." He sniffed his nose with tears beginning to form. "And now, it's back to the torturous nights in the stables."

Darkness could not help but wanting to be hit with Megumin's spell. "Oh, if only you could have,"

"Shut up!" Both Maximus and Kazuma shouted at her.

"Oh yes, berate me more!" She said with orgasmic bliss.

"Ugh, why did we even bother doing that?" Kazuma said with the same defeated tone from earlier.

"Doesn't matter now, let's just keep going and find,"

Before Maximus could go on, he cast his eyes up and saw the castle was still standing.

"No way," He said with slight amazement and turned around at Megumin. "Looks like your stupid spell wasn't going to cut it this time. You couldn't even destroy it completely. It seems I get to have my castle after all." He said and laughed a little more.

"Hello to my new comfy warm nights, goodbye to the torturous long cold ones." Kazuma shouted with joy. "But wait, won't we have to fix it now and isn't it going to take too long to do so?" He inquired.

"That won't be a problem, I know a spell which can fix it all up in no time flat." Maximus said grinning and began to walk towards it. "Oh, by the way, looks like someone is going to carry Megumin from here on."

"I'll go ahead and do that, since we usually go together anyway." Kazuma sighed.

"I can't believe he called my spell stupid, when I get my strength back, I'm going to blow him up within that castle." She said feeling grumpy.

They proceeded to the castle all the while noticing the footprints were now originating from the castle. The five of them stood before it and wondered. Maximus could sense a disturbing aura surrounding it and coming from within. Aqua was hanging back behind Maximus sensing the spookiness of the castle's appearance. Darkness began to take a step towards it.

"Wait," Maximus said to get her attention.

She turned around and was about to inquire when he shook his finger side-to-side. He picked up a small stone and tossed it forward. The moment it was a few feet from the opened gates, it instantly disintegrated and a barrier was visible for a moment.

"Just as I thought when we got here, someone is still occupying this place." He said as he inspected it further.

Meanwhile within the castle, three individuals were watching the front gates through a crystal ball.

"Masters Wolbach and Sylvia, what are your orders from here on?" An Undead man asked the two women. He wore a robe over his head and held a glowing purple orb. The last little scraps of flesh nearly falling off his bones.

"I think we should test this man out a little more, see what he is truly capable of. What do you think of that Sylvia?" Wolbach inquired.

"Do you think this Lich will be enough to tango with him? Considering Verdia's prowess,"

"Verdia was weak to allow himself to be killed by that man, even if he did transform in some bizarre way to win." Wolbach said interrupting her while looking into another crystal orb which showed images of Verdia and Maximus' battle. "Besides, the Lich has gathered a massive amount of mana within his orb, perhaps it could prove more than enough."

"And if he should fail, what then?" Sylvia asked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, besides, we should not keep the Demon King waiting long." Wolbach answered and teleported the two of them away. "Kill him by any means necessary." Her voice echoed in the dark hall.

"Yes master, it shall be done." The Lich said with a smile and his only eye on the right side of his face glowed yellow.

Meanwhile back at the front gate, Maximus was studying the barrier a little further. Lightly tapping caused it to be visible if only for a moment. He pressed a little harder and instantly was zapped. He withdrew his hand from it and noticed the intense bolt of lightning caused his finger to be injured. His whole arm went numb and a little jolting sensation was still lingering within him.

"Just as I thought," He said standing up from squatting and began to rub his finger. "This barrier won't be easy to pass through." He informed them.

"Is your hand really that bad?" Aqua inquired as she stood next to him and held out her hands. "Heal."

The next moment her healing spell began to reverse the injury upon his finger and the rest of his arm. Once the spell finished returning life to his arm and calming the jolting sensation, he turned to her and nodded his head.

"Thanks." He said feeling grateful to her.

Darkness had an overly excited grin on her face and before anyone could react, she quickly dashed forward. The moment she reached the same spot the stone was last; she hit the barrier and began to be shocked with powerful bolts of red lightning.

"Darkness!" Everyone shouted at her.

She screamed out in pain feeling her body go numb and her armor began to glow.

"That idiot, what was she thinking," Maximus stopped himself. "Oh wait, never mind."

Darkness was on the ground feeling ecstatic from the pain she received after running against the barrier. Her armor continued to glow brighter and soon started flashing at a slow pulse which began to quicken in pace.

Maximus had an unnerving feeling about the light from her armor and Kazuma turned to him.

"Maximus, her armor is going to blow up!" He shouted with urgency.

Maximus quickly snapped his fingers and the next moment her armor was stripped of her, leaving only the clothing she wore underneath. The metallic objects floated above her and he motioned his hands upward. Her armor immediately barreled towards the heavens, flying high in the sky at hypersonic speeds. Moments later, a titanic ball of crimson light covered the face of the blue sky, expanding over the horizon. A few moments after the expanding light flashed, a massive sonic boom echoed throughout the whole countryside, shaking the entire ground as though an earthquake was in progress.

Aqua quickly huddled against Maximus and he turned around feeling as though the explosive light would rain down upon them. He held her close, wrapping his arms around her acting as a shield. The winds from the explosion raced down and brushed violently against them all. Kazuma dropped Megumin and squatted down hugging his head. Darkness watched in awe as the light show was coming to an end. The crimson light began to dissipate and the blue of the sky was becoming visible. Everyone looked up and saw the clear sky with no clouds in sight.

"That was the biggest explosion I have ever seen, someday, my magic will be as great as that." Megumin giggled at the prospect.

"Are you insane, if you unleash a spell like that, you'll end up killing yourself along with everyone within range!" Kazuma retorted.

Aqua was enjoying being in the comfort of Maximus' embrace, seeing his concerned face and smiled at his instant reaction of covering her. "He shielded me without hesitating, I am in literal Heaven right now." She said to herself.

Darkness gasped thinking about the explosion. "If only I were to be able to endure such torment from that," She stopped as she struggled to crawl towards the barrier.

"I highly doubt any one of us could survive that explosion and live to tell about." Maximus said interrupting her.

He turned down to glance at Aqua, noticing her smile and he grinned back with a wink.

Meanwhile within the castle, the Lich was watching them for a moment before holding out his hand with the orb.

"Come forth from the River of Sticks and crossover into the Land of the Living. Bind your soul to the form you once took and let your spirit take up the sword of vengeance. Prey upon the one whose life you wish to take here and now!" The Lich commanded.

The next moment an armored figure appeared in the shadows with a red glowing eye.

"Go and defeat him." The Lich ordered.

"With pleasure." He said and began to laugh.

Meanwhile back at the gates, Maximus was helping Darkness to her feet after Aqua had healed her. The moment she was on her feet, Darkness began to walk towards the barrier once more.

"I must experience this torment once more, for I had not quenched my thirst and I must experience that explosion firsthand!" She declared to them.

"Sacred Dispel!" Aqua shouted and a ray of light crashed upon the barrier as Maximus held Darkness back.

"No, what are you doing, unhand me you fiend!" Darkness shouted.

The next moment the barrier was destroyed and Darkness became depressed. Maximus let her go and she squatted down in the fetal position sinking further into her depressed state. The thought of experiencing the devasting blow was fading into obscurity.

"She knows how to use focused Anti-Magic to dispel magical properties?" Maximus said to himself with a surprised look. "No, wait, that wasn't necessarily Anti-Magic, it was more refined and even divine, not at all the raw type I had discovered when I encountered the Kraken on my homeworld." He finished his thought.

Aqua giggled and turned to him. "As you can see, dispelling a barrier such as this is no laughing matter for a Goddess such as I." She explained to them.

Maximus approached her. "Impressive, I think I'll have you teach me that sometime, maybe when we get back." He said.

"Sure, it will be no problem at all." She said smiling.

The next moment Maximus felt the ominous presence move towards them and at the doorway into the castle, stood a familiar foe. His dark aura was visible for them to see, dancing upward like a calm fire. His glowing red eye fixated on them.

"Hello Maximus, welcome to my humble abode. I am glad you received the invitation to come out and play." He paused for a moment. "Now then, where is my sword so I may cut you down here and now." His voice deepened.

Verdia raised his free hand up and the next moment his sword appeared in his grasp.

"No way, how is he still alive!" Kazuma shouted in disbelief.

"Pardon me, I do not believe you and I are acquainted." Maximus said wondering who the headless knight was and how he knew of him.

"Are you serious, you're joking with me, right?" Verdia snapped at him. "How could you forget about me, was I that forgettable to you?!" He continued to shout in anger.

"Actually, he died the other day and lost all his memories of being on this world." Aqua informed him.

"Well, that's annoying," He paused pointing his sword at him. "But it makes no difference, you will pay for ending my life. I have come for my revenge!" He shouted declaring his intent.

"Very well then," Maximus stopped to use his magic to create two short swords. "Let us reenact out battle from before."

Maximus instantly dashed towards his foe and Verdia matched him. Both of them staring down each other as they closed the distance to begin their battle. Maximus crossed his arms and the moment they were within range, their weapons clashed against each other.


	17. Chapter 17

**Battle at the Castle:**

Maximus and Verdia were clashing swords across the large empty opening between the gates and the doors to the castle. With each strike blocked by the other, sparks flew out to escape from the metal blades. On the last clash Maximus backed away and stood still as Verdia circled him to study his opponent further.

"There has to be an opening I can exploit in this fight, some weakness I can take the advantage on." Verdia said to himself and darted for his opponent's back.

Maximus patiently waited to have his enemy come closer. Verdia lunged his sword forward to pierce his back. Once Verdia was within range, Maximus side-stepped to his right and the blade missed him and spun around to kick Verdia away. His foot slammed against the side of Verdia's chest and an indention formed. His feet slid across the ground and he planted his sword into the earth to slow himself to a stop.

"Lucky hit, let us see you try it again!" Verdia shouted and roared raising his sword in the air.

Maximus lightly grinned and blocked the attack with his right hand's sword and swung the other across. Verdia saw the blade inching closer and quickly moved his sword back in a sawing motion to block it. His sword was wide enough to act as a temporary shield and he took several steps back. Verdia began to focus the aura he was given into his blade and the shiny sword soon had a dark ominous haze engulfing it.

"I wonder what this could mean?" Maximus said to himself.

The next moment Verdia thrusted his sword forward and Maximus prepared to block. The moment the swords clashed against each other, Maximus weapons instantly broke apart and shattered into pieces.

"I have you, now die!" Verdia shouted with excitement thrusting his sword forward, aiming at Maximus' heart.

"Maximus!" Aqua shouted in fear as she was about to watch him die before her.

The next instant Maximus created a barrier that held the sword strike at bay. He noticed it was breaking through as the aura was transferring into it and was no longer on the sword. The barrier shattered after a few seconds, but long enough to allow Maximus to create another pair of swords. He swung his right hand upward to force the blade into the air and moved to strike his foe. Verdia took another back step to avoid the blow. He almost lost his footing and stumbled to stand up. The two stopped momentarily to study each other, guessing at what the other might do.

"His strength and speed have increase exponentially, not to mention he has acquired new magical skills to go along with it. I wonder if he has leveled up quite a bit since we last crossed swords. Or is there something else at play here." Verdia wondered to himself.

"If he and I had crossed paths before, I wonder how that battle went? Perhaps I will ask the others later. I will say for a big sword such as that, the strength in his right arm must be impressive to keep up with me and I haven't even begun to show my true strength." Maximus paused for a moment. "Then again, Aqua informed me earlier during our little outing, the Curse of the Nephilim was lifted from me when I arrived here. But I feel no different from when I was last upon my homeworld. Still, that was not all the curse was engulfing anyway. I should thank her immensely for that, since there is no way of knowing how troublesome he could be for me."

The next moment Verdia dashed towards him once more and their weapons clashed and the two held their position, staring each other down.

"I should really let loose, but after what I was sensing earlier, I should take my time with this. Hope he doesn't mind being a test run to start off." Maximus said to himself.

Maximus crossed his swords in a scissor motion to force Verdia back with a little more strength, but barely enough to call it a hard effort. He quickly motioned his arm forward and used his magic to create a Mana Burst. The shock was visible for only a split second as blue sparks rushed out to the side of his hand.

Verdia was sent flying back over fifty yards, grinding his feet against the ground in an effort to stop himself. The moment he stopped and regained his composure, he saw Maximus already before him. He had one of his swords thrusting forward in his right hand and his left hand had the sword flipped around, the tip of the blade facing back.

Verdia quickly swung his sword up vertically and Maximus blocked it with his left sword. The next instant Verdia spun to his right to be on Maximus' flank and quickly motioned his sword to cut him in half at the waist. He shouted with all of his might seeing his revenge come to fruition and the next moment his sword passed through Maximus. His body laid there in two and Verdia could not believe his eyes.

"Maximus!" Aqua shouted fearing Maximus had met his end and was on the verge of crying as the tears quickly formed.

Verdia began to laugh uncontrollably.

"You little,"

Before Aqua could go on, Maximus placed his left hand on her shoulder. She was surprised to see him alive and uninjured.

"Maximus, you are alive!" She shouted with joy and hugged him. "Don't you scare me like that again." She said with her face cutely puffing up.

Maximus place his right hand on her head and smiled. "Don't worry, I am not so easy to bring down, especially in that fashion." He said and winked at her.

Verdia was too much consumed with his fake triumph he did not notice Maximus was with the others. His laughter was so loud it echoed across the vast opening.

"Now then, to," He stopped for a moment and to his surprise he saw Maximus standing next to Aqua. "What!" He shouted in disbelief. "What is the meaning of this," He looked down and saw no blood on the body before him. "How are you still alive? I cut you down in two, I know I did!" His voice began to carry an angry tone.

"Well, this is disappointing, I would have thought you would have been good enough to see me create a Magical Doll to take my place the last few moves before baiting you into that false sense of accomplishment. But I see you are not well attuned at detecting magical employments such as that. Nor quick enough to see it take place. Also, I should inform you, my real strength and power is far more beyond that which you have fought thus far." Maximus said feeling disappointment for his foe.

"You're bluffing, there is no way you are that much powerful!" Verdia shouted in disbelief. "The gap between us in power and strength cannot be that much as he is making it out to be. He will pay dearly for this boastfulness." He said to himself.

"Well, allow me to demonstrate all the areas I am better at than you." Maximus said and motioned Aqua to let him go.

The instant she released him, a large spark formed over where he stood and within the same moment Maximus appeared behind Verdia. The next second Verdia felt his presence behind him and tried to turn around as fast as he could, but to Maximus, he was moving in slow motion.

"My speed is beyond what your eyes can see." Maximus informed him.

Everyone in his party was amazed at his speed, covering the distance of sixty yards in the same moment he disappeared.

Maximus took hold of Verdia's shoulder to tilt him down a bit and slammed his right leg against the side of his chest once more in an upward motion and was launched into the air, high above the castle. He looked around and saw he was already above the clouds with Maximus flying at his side.

"My strength is incomprehensible compared to yours." Maximus said and appeared ahead of him some distance. "And my magical power is a wonder to behold!" He shouted.

Verdia saw a bright blue light shining within Maximus' hands. "What is that?" He wondered.

"Heaven's Blaze!" Maximus shouted once more and moved his arms down.

The blue fire and lightning engulfed Verdia to the point his armor was beginning to melt and his body was burning against the holy aura of the attack. The lightning electrified his body far beyond the threshold an ordinary person can withstand.

Moments later, after seeing the report of the explosion, the group saw Verdia falling towards the earth and landed within a clearing of the forest surrounding the hilltop where the castle sat. Maximus glided down and hovered over his foe in a dominating way. His arms were crossed as he waited for his foe to stand.

"By the looks of it I would dare go far as to say I am nothing like I was when I last fought you, am I? I wonder how that fight truly progressed?" Maximus asked.

"It went well for me until you transformed into your Angelic state, revealing your identity to me as an Angel from Heaven." Verdia replied.

Maximus began to laugh at his answer. "You think I am some Angel from Heaven." He continued to laugh. "That's hysterical!" Maximus began to lose control of himself as he struggled to keep his composure.

"But it's the obvious conclusion! Your real form was so magnificent how could you be anything else, but an Angel." Verdia snapped back at him with a hint of confusion.

"I don't know what to tell you buddy, but I am no Angel." He said after regaining himself and landed on the ground. "I am a Human Nephilim, a descendant of the Nephilim Race, who were born from the result of an Angel, even if they were Fallen Angels, and a Demon coupling. That is all the knowledge you will take with you when you die once more." Maximus informed him.

Verdia quickly saw an opening to attack and threw his head high in the air. Once his head reached the height of its climb, the red eye glowed with a fiery orange light and behind the head a fireball shaped in an eye formed.

"What is he doing?" Maximus wondered to himself.

Verdia's body stood up and with both hands took hold of his sword and swung it at supersonic speeds.

Aqua and the others arrived just as Verdia's head was employing the light. "Maximus!" She shouted feeling concerned for him.

In that moment time slowed to a crawl as Maximus employed a spell to temporarily slow everything around him. He stood there sensing what was happening and began to feel disappointed once more.

"You are willing to employ a last-ditch effort to cut me down. That is commendable, however as I told you before," Maximus said as time was beginning to return to normal pace and Verdia's body had not yet closed the distance between the two.

The next moment Verdia's sword was stopped by one of Maximus' weapons and the other one buried into his foe's heart he had summoned from where the Magical Doll laid. Verdia felt the sting of his blade in his chest and saw white light flowing into him from it as his head was falling towards the two.

"My speed, strength, and magic are beyond you. I was trained to be a Mage on my homeworld, even was given a spell book that held all the knowledge of The Order of Mages had collected over their long period of existence. You would have a better chance if I didn't know any magic, but even then, it still wouldn't be enough because of who my ancestors were." Maximus informed him.

Verdia's head landed on the ground and he began to cough as his body stood still. He soon could feel the stinging Holy Light slowly disintegrate his Undead corpse. Cracks in his armor webbed out from the swords position, revealing the white light shining from within.

Meanwhile, the Lich was watching the battle come to its conclusion.

"As I first suspected, looks as though I will have to step in after he is dealt with." He said and waved his hand over the orb.

Back at the clearing.

"Is this how I am going to die, being bested by the same guy twice and I was unable to avenge my own death!" Verdia said to himself. "No! I will not let it end like this!" He shouted.

The next moment Verdia's body began to force the light from his body. He took hold of Maximus' forearm and moved it away from him causing the short sword to exit out of him. Soon an unholy aura began to seep out and Maximus sensed his power intensifying by the moment. He dashed away towards the others readying for anything.

Maximus looked down at his blade and saw it was melting away, turning to ash. The Dark Aura seemed to devour it like acid dissolves items. He let go of it and saw it was soon engulfing the ground. He snapped his fingers and briefly used his Holy Magic in an effort to purify it. He noticed nothing was happening at first and began to intensify the Holy ray. Once it was over, he turned back to Verdia who was picking up his head and turned around to face him.

"Hmm, this should be interesting, to outmaneuver him while he is in this state. It would seem I cannot allow myself to touch him or possibly get too close. If I were to do so, I might have quite a problem on my hands. I was hoping to save this for later, but it seems I have no choice." Maximus said and prepared himself.

"Allow me to take the lead on this one, Maximus, Turn Undead!" Aqua shouted.

Beneath Verdia's feet a large circle formed and he was engulfed by a bright light. The Holy essence immediately doused the Unholy Aura away. His body began to burn inwardly and he rolled around the ground screaming in pain.

Aqua noticed his body had not been purified and back up to stand next to Maximus.

"That spell didn't work on him?!" She said with a little fear in her voice and was bewildered about the situation.

"What do you mean, he 'yowled' and rolled around for a bit." Kazuma replied.

Maximus stood there noticing the aura had not fully dissipated.

"Ugh, I cannot believe I am forced to do this, but I have no choice." Verdia said and raised his right arm. The next moment several dozen of Undead were summoned to him. "Now then my minions, go forth and slay them all!"

"Look at him, he is so petrified of your spell, he had to call in back up to assist him." Kazuma informed her and she nodded her head.

"How annoying, I thought he was going to employ another trick up his sleeve and it turns out he wasted it on summoning minions instead of accepting the inevitable." Maximus said feeling disappointed.

"What, that's not what I am doing here besides, everyone knows you have to fight the minions before you go on to challenge the boss!" Verdia snapped back.

"Then why did you rush after him at the start instead of doing what you are employing now?" Kazuma inquired pointing at Maximus.

"I was just… well, you see,"

"Whatever, Sacred Turn Undead!" Aqua shouted.

The same circle appeared beneath their foes and the Undead troops were immediately vaporized and Verdia began to roll around in pain.

"What, that spell didn't work on him either?!" Aqua said wondering what was going wrong.

"No, it did work, it's just he's still has a lot of dark essence within him to prevent himself from being terminated." Maximus said as he approached Verdia. "Why don't we put an end to this little song and dance." Maximus held out his hand and a bright silver ball of light began to form. "Any last words before I permanently put you back into the ground from whence you came?" He inquired.

"Yeah, see you in Hell." Verdia said laughing.

The next moment dark rays strode forth and immediately engulfed the two of them. A massive ball of pure darkness expanded out followed by a loud sonic boom. The sound of the blast echoed so loud it gave the impression the very air in the sky broke a part. The others had braced themselves and when it was over, they saw no one before them but a large crater. The smoke rose high in the sky and formed a large mushroom cloud.

Aqua began to worry about Maximus' safety and walked toward the large crater which was ten yards in diameter and five yards deep. The moment she stood at the edge and before a word could escape her lips, she saw Maximus at the center of the crater. His coat and clothes were shredded and had strange burnt marks. His aura was floating out of his body and she had guessed he used it to shield himself from the blast.

"Another wasted attack, another desperate ploy which yielded no results for him. If that explosion had the ability to destroy an entire mountain, it might have given me more damage than this. Had he used that type of mana from the start, our battle might have a different outcome." Maximus said and began to turn around to walk out.

"Wait, where's Verdia's body?" Aqua inquired.

"He used that aura in an attempt to have me be disintegrated by the blast while blowing himself up in the process, however it was not enough for I am still here." He said looking over himself.

"But your coat is damaged again, guess I will have to fix it once this is over." She smiled as she inspected it.

"It's a real shame he used up all that mana boost near the end to summon those minions. If he had used it to boost himself, he would have fared decently, however it still would not have been enough either. Not to mention it seemed he pinned everything on that special move of his. What a shame indeed." Maximus said feeling disappointed.

"Do you think he could have done a lot better if he was more conservative with his mana?" She inquired.

"I rather doubt it, with the way he was fighting and all. I would go as far as to say he had no prior training at all or possibly since he was revived, he may have had a limit." Kazuma said.

"Indeed, but who knows for sure." Maximus concurred.

"Geez, I wonder how strong this guy is? First, he kills a Manticore with relative ease, slays a bunch of toads no sweat, beats Verdia; twice, and slays that Black Fang bear. Are there no limits to what he can or cannot do?" Kazuma wondered to himself.

"Well, we better return to the castle and clear all or any foes left within." Maximus said.

Meanwhile within the castle, the Lich had a disappointed look on his face.

"I suppose his revenge was not strong enough to fuel his will to defeat him and if that is so, what else could he have been thinking about to hinder him. If he had more focus, he could have won. I suppose it is my turn after all." The lich said.

The group had just entered the door when they noticed everything was still well kept despite the damages on the roof and walls. The decorations were on par with that of one who would be considered a King or Nobleman. The front room was tall as twenty feet in height and two rolls of pillars stretched forth from the doors. A single red and gold carpet was upon the ground stretching the distance to another door. Everything was exceedingly fine in all manner of crafts, vases, tables, and curtains.

They looked around and saw no signs that anyone had been there recently despite its well-kept aesthetic. Maximus' senses were still in an alarmed state as the intense feeling was growing by the second. He kept his focus in front of them while they were looking around.

"Hey, I wonder if we will find any treasures within the castle?" Aqua said as she moved a couple of small boxes around.

"That would be nice, I would say if there is any, we should split it equally. What do you think Maximus?" Megumin asked as she looked at him. "What is it, what's going on?" She inquired feeling the tension within him.

"If you are going to take anything from here, you will first have to contend with me." The Lich said as he appeared before them. "If you want all the valuables, you will have to deal with them, the ones who lost their most prized possessions when these adventurers died here long ago as well." He finished as he laughed.

The next moment nearly sixty Undead appeared in front of the lich.

"Now then, away with,"

Before the Lich could continue the Undead bodies quickly charged toward Aqua. She soon noticed they were eyeing her and began to run away towards the entrance, crying.

"This isn't fair, why are they after me." She shouted

"Why are they chasing after her when you would have thought they go for me?" Maximus asked out loud.

"Or me since I am a crusader, they should be barreling down on me. This is so unfair!" Darkness protested.

"Well, Aqua is a Goddess and they are Undead, so I guess you could say they are seeking religion?" Kazuma suggested.

The next moment Maximus appeared outside and picked up Aqua, holding her in his arm.

"Heaven's Blaze!" He shouted and his attack engulfed the whole lot of them.

The next moment he appeared back within the castle and she quickly embraced him.

"Thank you, Maximus for saving me from them." She said with tears still in her eyes.

"Why did you forget to employ Turn Undead upon them?" He asked with a concerned tone and a small hint of annoyance.

"I'm sorry, I will do better next time." She replied sniffing her nose.

"Let it go for now," He said releasing her from his arm. "At this moment, we have him to deal with and I am sure he is going to be more of a problem than Verdia ever was." He finished.

She noticed he had not taken his gaze from the Lich and saw a concerned look in his eyes.

"Well then Maximus, shall we continue?" The Lich asked.

"First meetings, usually warrants an introduction; no?" Maximus said to him. "Besides, you are already familiar with me and I do not know your name. What is it may I ask, as to remember you?" He inquired remembering how some knights of old would conduct a duel in the old ages.

"Well I suppose you are right, where are my manners. I was once known as a well accomplished wizard some thousand years ago or so. My name is," He paused for a moment as he tried to remember his own name. "I have forgotten it." He stood there with a sad look on his face.

"That must be annoying, to forget your own name." Kazuma said as he was next to Megumin.

"Well, how about you just call me Leech for now." He said.

"Well that's uninspiring." Aqua said with a blank expression on her face.

"Well, it has been over or around a thousand years since I became a Lich, but there you have it. We have exchange names and are ready to pursue further discussions, no?" Leech said.

"What do you mean by that?" Kazuma inquired as he stood next to Maximus.

"It is quite simply my boy; the Demon King has a few vacant spots open among his Generals and would like to extend an invitation to join him. This of course is an exclusive offer to Maximus alone as he recognizes your talents and would be a shame for them to go to waste. I will add if any of you would like to join his army, all you have to do is say the word and we will welcome you into our little flock." Leech informed them.

"No way, I would never join with the Demon King's forces! As a Crimson Demon, I cannot abandon or betray my village to a low life scum such as he." Megumin said as she tried to stand in order to strike a pose but fell back down.

"I too cannot," Darkness said as she struggled to stand. "As a knight it is my duty to safeguard the helpless from evil and crush those who are wicked." She finished.

"There's no way I would be siding with the Demon King anytime soon. Besides, I, the Goddess Aqua, would be shunned by all of my followers as well as Heaven itself if I were to join forces with the likes of him!" Aqua replied to Leech with a sense of grace and a repugnant thought.

"Are you sure about that? If you join us, we will make sure you are taken good care of. You will not have to sleep in the uncomfortable stables you are living in now." Leech said to tempt them.

"You're serious!" Kazuma said. "No, wait, don't let him seduce you with promises! Besides, it would look bad if we ended up joining their side." Kazuma said to himself feeling conflicted. "No, I cannot give in and join you, no matter how tempting your words are." He squeezed out.

They all soon noticed Maximus had yet to answer and stared at him intensely. He turned to each of them and noticed they had not taken their eyes off of him.

"Before I answer, I wish to know what your intentions with the town of Axel are, the one that is a short distance from here?" Maximus inquired.

"We currently have no plans for it at this time, does that suffice as an answer for you?" Leech said.

"Meaning you might have some in the future?" He shot back.

"As of right now, I know nothing what my masters have in store, but I know there is nothing at this time." Leech replied.

"I'll consider thinking it over on one condition." Maximus said pausing for a moment. "You leave this place and never return."

"Interesting, why would you forsake everyone in an exchange for this place I assume?" He inquired a little further.

"I would not call it forsaking them in a time of need, since the Demon King's armies have yet to appear. Of course, I was informed the town which I stay at rests far from his castle. But still, I have yet to hear about towns or cities being raided, pillaged, and burned to the ground of late. I cannot help but wonder why that is?" Maximus replied.

"I know not the things which my masters plan or the information they know, only what I am told to relay to you. As I said before, he has heard of your exploits and is willing to offer you a spot in his court and or a General of his army. What do you say?" He asked.

Maximus looked at the others for a brief moment before turning back.

"And what did he say about Verdia's encounter with me the first time?" Maximus inquired. "I am told he nearly sentenced me to die, what's his position on that?"

"Verdia was only sent to investigate something, of which I do not know, however, if he attacked you there must have been a reason for that." He responded.

"It's quite the generous offer, however I have no intention of joining any one side until I can get more information about this supposed conflict plaguing the land." Maximus said.

"I see, negotiations have broken down then?" Leech asked.

"Not necessarily, I am just declaring my intent to remain neutral. However, if any of his subordinates happens to be around me and start to cause harm to the innocent, then we will find ourselves at odds. I am content with where I am and who I am with." Maximus said.

"I see,"

"Although, I have to say I am liking the scenery here and plan to move into this structure for my own reasons. If you are planning to use it further, then we have a problem. On top of that, I feel as though our paths may cross someday, but I maintain what I said before and will help others if I am near and see the dangers they are in firsthand. What do you say to that?" Maximus said before Leech could continue.

"I say that I lied about the whole offer and you have fallen for my deadly trap!" Leech shouted with his arm rising and his orb appeared in hand.

Maximus bolted towards him within the same moment Leech made his move. Maximus quickly created two swords once more and sliced Leech across his chest and spun around to strike his back. Leech's body fell lifeless to the ground and to everyone else, the short exchange happened so fast they had barely blinked when it was over.

"A noble effort Maximus," Leech said and Maximus turned around. "However, it is not enough for the likes of me." He finished hovering in the air looking down at him. "Now then, let our battle begin!" He said with excitement as six purple and white orbs formed at his sides.

Maximus readied himself for another fight and at the same time began to worry about his party members. "This is not going to be easy." He said feeling the intense aura radiating from the Lich.


	18. Chapter 18

**Lich Versus Human Nephilim:**

Leech started the battle with three of his orbs firing rays of black and purple light at Maximus, shooting out in short increments. Maximus began to weave back and forth to the sides in order to avoid the rays. He noticed there was a delay in between each blast which would be long enough to strike his foe. At the same moment he still noticed the other three orbs were not being employed in the fight.

"Is he trying to bait me?" Maximus wondered as he dodged another blast. "If so, he is not doing a great job at it." He finished.

The next moment Leech had the three orbs fire at the same time in a prolonged attack. Maximus quickly raised his swords to black the ray. The moment it clashed against his weapons; the force began to push him back several yards until it was over.

"If only I didn't use my once a day spell, I could aid him, but I feel as though I would still get in the way." Megumin said as she barely stood on her feet.

"This battle is already intense and it's only just getting started." Darkness said to herself. "I will aid thee, Maximus. Now, have at you, you undead fiend!" Darkness shouted and charged forth.

Leech slightly turned his head and grinned. The instant Darkness was nearly upon him, he formed a round shield-like barrier and shot it forth. The attack began to shock her intensely and she was stopped dead in her tracks. As the shocking sensation coiled through her body, her face could not hide her satisfying smile as she was enjoying every second of being tormented by her foe.

After a few moments she laid on the ground unable to move and Leech was surprised she was capable of withstand so much pain.

"Oh, what an extraordinary feeling this is, to be shocked to the point mere low-level adventurers would perish. Please, I need more!" She begged.

"This woman is quite daft; does she always do this?" Leech inquired.

"Every single time we go on any quest." Kazuma said with an annoyed look in his eyes and a blank face.

"Sacred Turn Undead!" Aqua shouted.

Within the air a sphere of Holy Light surrounded Leech and the spell began to attack him.

"Amplify ten-fold!" Maximus shouted to cast a spell to increase her spell's effects.

Moments after another barrier was visible between Leech and Aqua's spell. Both of them were surprised to see it and he turned back to Aqua.

"Nice try, but you will have to do better than that if you are to defeat me." He said gliding towards her.

Maximus instantly formed a bow and arrow and began rapidly firing a barrage of arrows at Leech. Each strike slammed against the barrier and Maximus quickly moved once enough smoke had been created to cover him. He picked up Aqua and used his magic to teleport the others outside in order to have more room.

"Wait, are you going to run away from him?" Aqua inquired.

"No, just getting more breathing room, besides as it stands right now, you and I are the only ones capable of doing anything in this fight. However, I believe you are nowhere near capable of taking him on as you are now." He said feeling bad to hit her confidence in such a manner.

"I'm sorry, I promise to do better from here on out." She said as tears began to form.

The next instant a larger ray shot for him and he was barely able to react in time. The explosion vibrated the ground like an earthquake was underway as cracks began to rip the ground open. The very air itself carried the thunderous cracking sound across the ways. The two were sent far into the forest in the background nearly a distance of three miles out.

Upon colliding against the ground another explosion erupted and laid waste to the entire area. The blackened fireball expanded a mile wide in diameter and rose so high it nearly touched the underside of the clouds. Moments after the large mushroom cloud formed and moments after Kazuma felt the shockwave violently brush against him and the others. The force tackled them to the ground and momentarily the sonic boom echoed with the same breaking sound.

"Oh my God both Aqua and Maximus were in the middle of that! I hope they are okay!" Kazuma said to himself.

He stood there with his mouth wide open in stunning amazement and fear. Leech soon hovered out from the doorway with his eyes still looking towards the explosion.

"Was that not amazing or what?" Leech asked with a grin and his eyes closed. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have to confirm if he is dead. If she died with him, it wouldn't have mattered either way." He said as he laughed heading towards the other two.

Kazuma used his Lurk skill to rush Leech and when he was close, drew his short sword to strike him from behind. The next instant he collided with the barrier which was still in effect. The shocking sensation paralyzed him and he twitched every time his heartbeat.

"A brave effort, but did you really think a low-level cur, such as yourself, would be able to contend with me?" Leech said and continued to where the other two were.

"This hurts like no other, I cannot even move a muscle right now." He grunted out.

"It is glorious is it not?" Darkness inquired feeling the same pains he was going through with a disturbing smile.

"Oh God, there she goes again." Kazuma said feeling desensitized about her masochist ways.

Meanwhile, Maximus was laying in the center of the fiery plain with dark flames burning around them. He sat up from the ground coughing as he held Aqua in his right arm. He looked down and noticed she was not harmed by the blast. Before he could think further about her, he began to feel the sharp sting in his left side of his body. He looked it over and saw several third degree burn marks and a few streams of blood running down it. The few patches of his flesh had burnt to a crisp as though he were cooked too long.

"That packed a lot more punch than I expected," He stopped to flinch in pain. "But at least she is alright." He finished looking down at her. "Hey, Aqua, wake up. I need you to wake up right now so we can move." He said to her.

She laid there silent in his right arm. He shook her body a little and after a few moments of not making a sound, he began to fear the worst.

"Hey, wake up, please tell me you are ok!" He began to shout.

He licked his fingers to wipe them on his cheek and held her close to it in order to check to see if she was breathing. After a few seconds, he did not feel any air blow onto his cheek. He quickly laid her down to check her pulse and soon noticed nothing was registering.

"No, don't you dare die on me!" He said as he started to panic.

He began to use his one good arm to press down on her chest to begin resuscitating her. After a dozen times pressing down on her chest, he moved to breath air into her mouth several times. He began a second time through the process and soon found himself feeling his hope of her coming back to life dwindle.

"No, don't you dare leave me, I told you to stay by my side in order to look after you. Don't make me go through this situation again, don't make me endure losing someone I care for!" He shouted with tears beginning to form.

The next moment his mind began to see images of the two being together ever since they first started their journey. The times they would laugh and smile to the ones where he would save her on multiple occasions.

"I don't know why, but I feel as though something is coming back to me. These are my memories of the two of us. I remember now, when I last died, I had accepted to pay the price in order to return to her. And now," He paused his thoughts. "Please Aqua, wake up!" He shouted desperately one last time as he breathed air into her once more.

The next instant Aqua took a deep breath and began to cough.

"Aqua!" He shouted with joy and hugged her.

Aqua noticed she was within Maximus' arm and held him close.

"I now know how you must have felt when you tried to revive me." He chuckled.

"I am sorry I worried you," She paused feeling the crisp skin on his left arm. "What happened to you, your whole left side is incredibly injured." She said and held her hands over him. "Heal."

The next moment Maximus began to have the tingling sensation of his nerves reconnecting. His flesh returning to normal and he began to regain control of his arm and before he could be completely healed, Aqua looked up and saw another ray heading towards them.

Maximus saw the look on her face and quickly turned around with his right hand in the air.

"Lotus Shield!" He shouted.

The next instant seven barriers formed in front of them and the ray collided against the first. Soon after the ray dissipated and the two of them saw Leech hovering in the air.

"Impressive, you managed to survive my previous attack." He said to congratulate Maximus. "I see you have taken considerable damage as well and you have her healing you behind these magical shields. I must say, you have quite the interesting quality number of spells in your arsenal. I wonder just how much and how good they all are."

"Alright, you are ready to continue the fight, as am I." She said stepping to his side.

Maximus placed his hand on her shoulder and she turned around.

"Please forgive me for this, but I cannot fight against him without my concern for you." Maximus said and the next moment he teleported her to the Guild Hall.

"Wait, Maximus!" She said and soon saw herself standing in the dining hall and the next moment the rest of the party arrived.

"Whoa, how did we get here?" Kazuma wondered.

"That idiot, why did he have to do that?" Aqua said feeling disappointed and tears began to form. "What if something happens to you and I am not there to help?"

Luna turned and saw the four of them and noticed Maximus was not present.

"Kazuma, what are the four of you doing here, weren't you with Maximus?" She inquired.

The next moment Aqua latched onto her shirt, panicking.

"Luna, please tell me someone has something that can survey the battle at a castle not far from here!" She demanded to know as she began to shake her.

"I think we can arrange something, by the way, where is Maximus?" Luna asked.

"He's battling against a powerful Lich that was sent by the Demon King to kill him!" Aqua replied shaking Luna violently.

Meanwhile back at the burning area where Maximus stood, Leech had a curious thought run through his head.

"Was it necessary for you to teleport her away from here knowing full well you may have only delayed the inevitable?" Leech asked.

"It was necessary, not just for her protection, but for me to go all out with no distractions." Maximus said taking the last little remnants of his trench coat off of him.

The coat flew across the field, disappearing into the distance and was engulfed by the dark flames. Maximus took a stance with his right arm close to his body, hand balled up with his palm facing upward. His left arm was stretched out in front, palm open. He took a step forward with his left foot out and his right foot turned to the side. He began to gather his mana and prepared for the next bout.

The two remained in their previous state, staring at each other, waiting for one of them to make the first move. They both looked at one another as though studying their bodies, to sense when that first attack would inevitably arrive.

In the background a portion of a tree broke apart and before its remains could begin to fall, Maximus instantly disappeared. The ground he stood on formed a crater six feet in diameter and a foot deep.

Leech saw numerous arrows fired upon him and he stood still without worrying too much. The arrows collided with the barrier he still had up and smoke formed again.

"I feel as though you are doing nothing but a repeat of when we first started our little duel. Please tell me you have something in mind, because if you do not, this will certainly get boring really fast." He began to laugh in a superior way seeing the smoke gather around him.

The next moment an arrow filled with blue light shot towards him and he kept his same superior smile from before. The moment the tip of it touched the barrier it instantly dispelled the shield and the arrow barely scraped the side of his cheek.

"What?!" Leech shouted in disbelief.

Maximus appeared out of the smoke behind him and slammed his right leg against Leech's arm, breaking it and a visible shockwave flashed out. The impact sent him flying across the field and crashed upon the ground, upheaving it as he slid across the ways. The remains of the random tree finally hit the ground and Maximus kept his gaze forward.

"If he is anything like the ancient tales of wizards of old, his close quarters combat is poor at best and laughably non-existent at worst. Still, there is always an unknown element when dealing with one from another world. I wonder how he managed himself?" He said to himself sensing where his opponent was after seeing he did not appear.

The next moment Maximus sensed him from behind. He barely turned in time to see a magical spear thrusting its way towards him. He spun to his right and bent backwards to avoid the strike. The spear flew past him and instantly turned on the dime to fly back towards him. Maximus employed another barrier and the spear impacted against it.

The explosion which followed engulfed the barrier and soon after the smoke began to clear. Leech saw Maximus was still unharmed and he saw a surprised look on his face.

"Did you like that? I took a little something you did against Verdia and employed it for myself. Tell me, how did I do in creating a, what was it you called, oh yes, a Magical Doll?" Leech inquired.

"It was impressive for your first go at it, I will add you are more talented than I first gave you credit for. Then again, this is my first encounter with a Lich, in fact my world never had such begins as yourselves upon it. Your skills are quite remarkable." He complemented him.

"Too bad I do not hold the same regard for you." Leech shot back.

The next moment the six orbs appeared again and all began to fire beams at Maximus. He began to zig zag across the field and quickly formed a circular shield to block and deflect some of them. Maximus began to circle his opponent and fired several rays of white light upon him. The intensity of the beams was not threatening enough for his foe as another shield formed around Leech.

"Curse that Lich, he has a near bottomless well of mana to draw upon." Maximus whispered out in annoyance.

"Looks as though I have him on the ropes, but I wonder, why has he not employed his transformation yet? Could it be he is saving that for a last-ditch effort?" Leech said and stopped firing upon Maximus.

Maximus noticed he stopped and began to form another bow and arrow. He drew it back and began to fill it with as much mana as he could spare.

"Eat this, amplify hundred-fold!" Maximus shouted.

The moment he released the arrow, it flew at supersonic speeds and the intensity of the light increased. Leech held his hand out once more and when the arrow slammed against the barrier, it soon pierced through it. He barely moved his head to the side and the small blade grazed the side of his bald head. The hood was brushed back and Maximus could see his opponent's face. His decayed face was unsettling and disgusting to him.

"It looks as though I am going to summon that creature after all." Leech said feeling a little desperate.

"His barrier was strong enough to give him time to dodge the attack and even if I did charge after him, there's no telling if that was his real self or not. This is proving to be quite the challenge for me, I have never gone up against someone with this much mana reserve since my bout with Supreme Grand Master Yamamoto." He said pausing his thoughts as he observed his foe further. "My mana hasn't hit desperate levels yet, but his is still oceans deep compared to me at this moment. I used up a lot of it when forming that arrow with Anti-Magic from before. If I were to employ that once more, I would be resorting to my own life mana and that is not an option I would even take. However, I still have one more thing I could use to finish him off. I guess that says a lot about a Lich's power from this world." He finished.

The next moment Maximus felt the rumbling ground quake underfoot and soon a large scaly hand and arm stretched forth, tearing the ground open. Maximus took a dozen steps back and wondered what was being unearthed. Soon his eyes beheld the great beast, its scaly hide made manifest as its body crawled out from the massive hole it created. Its body had spots upon it which were rotten and appeared as though a greater animal had taken bites from it. The color of the scales was brown and green and its wings spread out covering the light of the sun.

A few spots upon its wings had decaying holes as well. The scales upon its body were so close together air could not pass through minus the torn holes. Its neck was long and almost graceful were it not for the decaying patch on its side. The head had a broken horn on the right and a completed one of the left. The snout was short with its jaw looking as though it was almost squared with a curve at the jaw joints. The teeth were few in number and Maximus guessed it would be a full set were it not for the decayed state the beast was in. Its titanic height towered over Maximus, making him appear as though he were a cat standing next to a giant. The incredible beast stood nearly three hundred feet in height.

"By all that is holy, is that what I think it is?" Maximus whispered out in amazement that was quickly followed by the fear mounting within himself.

The titanic beast looked around and roared as though to call out a rival. Maximus covered his ears to keep them from being overwhelmed. He felt the intense sound of its roar shook him to his core and his legs began to quake.

"How am I supposed to fight against a Dragon?" He said out loud, his gaze was back upon the beast.

He remembered hearing tales during his time within the Order of Mages about heroes battling and winning against such titanic beast from other worlds, namely Earth. Every time someone talked about it, he would laugh at the idea that any mortal being could have the fortitude, will, and or courage to face one, let alone defeat one in battle.

"I have no choice now but to fight against it, for if I don't, there is no telling what damage it can do along with Leech at its side." Maximus said as his thoughts wandered a little. "In order to keep her safe," He paused thinking about Aqua. "I must defeat this beast here and now." He finished as he concentrated on the fight ahead and focused on a spell.

Leech began to laugh even more as he looked down at Maximus. "I hope you are ready to fight against an Undead Dragon!" He said and continued to laugh seeing the look upon Maximus' face.

At the same time a bird familiar was flying overhead and began to observe the battle.

At the Guild Hall, Aqua had her worried eyes glued to the crystal ball one of the staff members held. She saw the Dragon and her fear for Maximus began to swell within her.

"Oh, my goodness, is he about to fight against that Dragon?" Luna inquired.

"No, that's not any ordinary Dragon, that's an Undead Dragon! Look at its scales, the way they seem to be decayed and rotten." Kazuma said.

Everyone began to gather around to watch. The staff member caused the image to appear in the air like a hologram. Everyone eagerly waited to see how Maximus would fair against such a creature.

"Hey, want to bet he slays this thing no problem?" A young adventurer inquired of another.

"No way, a Manticore and the Black Fang are one thing, but an actual Dragon; even if it is Undead, is something else entirely. That creature is on a whole different level all together, a level no one can reach, he's not going to make it!" Mohawk quickly replied.

"I'll take that bet anyway." Another adventurer joined in.

Some other adventurers began to take marks on who would win.

Kazuma and Megumin were annoyed they would make light of the situation.

"Do you think they know if he loses, that thing might come here to finish us off? If I had enough magic, I would blow them all up. In fact, remember them so I can do that later." Megumin said feeling her annoyance move to anger.

"Well, you live once I guess." Kazuma said.

"If only I could be there to share the joys of being tormented by that creature." Darkness quivered in excitement.

"And there she goes again, God will she just stop it already. Kazuma said to himself. "Come on, aren't you the least bit worried about our party's leader than being completely obsessed with being tortured. Also, you would be dead before you could feel anything!" Kazuma snapped at Darkness.

He turned and noticed Aqua had a sense of fear within her eyes as she did not look away once. Her hands were crossed as though she were praying for Maximus' safe return.

"Please be careful." She whispered feeling helpless as she could do nothing but watch as the battle unfolded before her eyes.

Everyone waited anxiously as the battle was soon to get underway again.


	19. Chapter 19

**Second Round with the Lich**:

Upon the battlefield, Maximus prepared himself as the spell he wanted to employ was ready.

"This may not be a good idea, but at least it will keep damage to the area to a minimum." He said to himself.

"No go and destroy this little worm!" Leech ordered the Dragon.

The Dragon leaned forward and gushed out a purplish fog from its mouth. Maximus bolted away from it and turned around to see everything swallowed up. He circled the beast while firing another barrage of arrows upon it. Each arrow exploded with the same force a small artillery shell could produce. He soon noticed it was not having much effect on the creature.

"It seems I will need to increase my potency; however, I cannot keep this going for too long. Looks like it is the perfect time to switch up from Magic to using Spiritual Energy. I do not have much experience using it as I only used magic to get the ball rolling in that area. I guess now is good a time as any to quickly dive into it without using magic." He said to himself.

Before he could go forward with his plan his eyes beheld a terrible sight behind him after the Dragon was finished breathing its unholy breath. The forest that laid around them had been devoured by its attack. The ground was scared in a manner which no living thing was visible. The grass and trees had all disintegrated and only left a desolate mark of dirt which looked infected.

"Did that Dragon spat out poison within its breath?" Maximus wondered to himself. He studied it further and concluded it was what he thought it was. "I need to make sure I am not touched by its breath attack or I could end up dying again." He said to himself. "Analysis." He said as a spell activated and his mind was filled with the knowledge about the poison. "This will come in handy should I happened to be caught in its wake." He finished.

Maximus moved once more and at the moment he was close enough to his foes, he focused on the spell he wanted to employ at the beginning of the new bout. He snapped his fingers and a white ball formed before him and quickly expanded out. The glass barrier extended forth throughout the entire area. The moment after a light shined forth which took everything within range to another plain. On the outside a towering glass structure remained.

Everyone at the guild wondered what he employed and saw he was still in the same position. Leech had wondered if it were going to be another highly potent spell that could end him and the Undead Dragon he summoned. He looked around and noticed nothing had changed.

"What was he employing just now and did it even work at all?" Leech wondered with curiosity.

"Now we can really let loose so long as I don't bite the bullet. Got to love the Mirror Reality spell to ensure safety for all. I should see about using it in another way sometime in the future." Maximus said to himself.

He instantly conjured up a fire serpent and send it forth to latch onto the Dragon's left front leg. The titanic beast began to screech in pain feeling the burns upon its body. The fire serpent began to expand its length to wrap around the entire creature.

"That was a wildly good guess to use fire on that beast. Now to deal with him." He said and bolted for Leech.

The next moment he was slapped away before he could get close enough to attack his foe. The Dragon had slammed its tail upon Maximus and almost instantly smashed against the ground after flying over a hundred yards. He slid upon the ground, smashing into every tree in his wake another hundred yards until he finally came to a halt.

"That was unexpected," He said sitting up and soon coughed out blood. "To think that creature could move at such speeds is extremely incredible. This is going to be harder than I thought." He said standing on his feet and soon felt dizzy from the blood rush to his head.

He nearly fell down when he caught himself by taking a step to the side to balance himself. His whole body was in pain and he looked back towards the direction he was last at.

"With the Dragon at his side, attacking him is going to prove difficult to say the least. There is no telling what that beast is capable of. Not to mention, I would go as far as to say it was possibly summoned or temporarily brought back to life." He stopped to gather his thoughts about what to do. "This is quite the situation I am in. There is no way I can attack from above the tree line, they both would see me coming a mile away. Staying in cover might help, however, with that Dragon's breath it would simply destroy all cover completely until there is nothing left to use to conceal my attacks." He said to himself.

Meanwhile Leech used his magic to cancel the fires and the Dragon's body was free after being tied down.

"Looks as though we are needing to add some resistance to fire at this time." He said and the orb began to glow.

"Figured he would do that," Maximus said feeling annoyed after using a magical familiar to eye out his enemies. "So much for turning that oversized lizard into a crisp buffet. However, if the initial attack is strong enough, I could use magic to conjure up artillery shells. Wait, no, I do not have enough mana for that. I may have enough for a handful of spells; I should keep that for healing instead of anything else. Well here goes then." He finished.

The next moment he began to remember how it would feel with using magic to summon his Spiritual Energy. Afterward he looked inwardly thinking the same way magic is created he began to think on some of the few lessons he was taught before.

"Summon it from your soul and not your core." He said to himself.

The next moment he felt a tingling sensation within his body as if a reservoir of untapped potential were being released. The feeling spread through his body liken to how magic would almost feel, instead his power was a lot more intense yet calm. He felt his body become more alive than ever before as his senses were heightened beyond what he was used to when employing magic.

"Now that I got that taken care off, it is time to see how I fare against these two. I wonder if I should transform now. No, I need to save that for a last resort, besides, I can replenish my mana and energy once I employ that." He said to himself. "Might as well throw caution into the wind and go straight into the teeth of this situation." He whispered.

The next moment he instantly appeared before the Undead Dragon and launched his right fist under its jaw. The loud cracking sound of the sonic boom created from it echoed vibrantly across the immediate area. The ground itself quaked at the might of the sheer force of the shockwave. The beast's head flew upward from the strike and it began to stumble. It took several steps back and soon collapsed to the ground. Within its eyes, the creature had a dazed and confused look as if feeling a strange sensation, it had not felt for a long time. It shook its head and began to stand up and immediately fell to the ground once more.

Before Leech could react, Maximus had spun around to his right to kick Leech with his left leg. The moment before his strike could land a blow, another barrier appeared to stop his attack.

"Figures, even with the Dragon at his side, he would still keep it up as a precaution should the battle go ill for him." Maximus said to himself.

He held out his hand and Leech began to ready himself for what could come next. Before Maximus could employ his next move, the Dragon lunged for him. Leech moved away and Maximus was swallowed whole by the beast.

"Is that it?" Leech wondered.

Meanwhile back at the guild, everyone began to feel depressed seeing another hero meet their end. Several people looked away clenching their fists wishing they could avenge him somehow.

"No, Maximus!" Aqua shouted as she fell to the ground on her knees as she began to cry.

Luna approached and embraced her as they both thought Maximus had met his end. She could see Aqua had deep feelings for him and she too could not hold back a single tear for him.

Everyone was silent, even the ones who were at first joyfully taking bets kept still and did not dare make a sound.

"Wait, look at that Dragon." Mohawk said.

Everyone cast their gaze back up at the image and saw the Dragon was struggling. Its mouth was soon opened, slowly, and Maximus appeared into view.

"He's still alive!" Aqua said with relief and cheer as a new sense of hope began to swell within her. "I shouldn't have written him off like that, he would never go down that easy." She said to herself.

Meanwhile back at the battlefield, Maximus struggled against the strength the Dragon's mouth was providing. Pushing with all of his might, he roared a loud as he stood up a little more in order to create a large enough opening to escape and the next instant he disappeared out of its mouth.

He hovered in the air from a safe distance with his gaze at the Dragon. He was feeling extremely exhausted as his breathing was fast and short. He tried to gather himself by taking in deeper breathes.

"You're going to have to work for your meal here you oversized salamander!" Maximus declared to the beast.

The Undead Dragon leaned forward and roared once more. Maximus had a grin form on his face and began to attack the beast again. He circled to its right staying away from Leech and fired a barrage of energy blasts upon the creature. Each hit had the same force equivalent to a large artillery shell. Maximus soon noticed it was working as the scales were falling off along with pieces of its flesh. The Dragon roared in pain and in that moment, he charged for the head. He focused as much of his Spiritual Energy he could spare into his left hand.

The moment his hand touched the scales of the beast, he roared loud and long as the energy flowed out of his hand. A large ray of silvery white light shot forth, expanding a circumference of twenty yards. The blast quickly disintegrated a large portion of the head, leaving half of it left untouched.

Leech was in awe at what had transpired before him and disbelief soon followed. "That's not possible," He whispered out as sweat began to form on the side of his head.

Maximus landed, planting both feet onto the ground just at the Undead Dragon's body collapsed. The rumbling vibrations were caused by the titanic beast's weight. A gust of dirt blew forth and soon settled harmlessly to the ground. Maximus waited for several moments to ensure the beast had died and was not coming back. He turned around to look at Leech with an intense gaze.

"You were saying." Maximus said to him.

"Even if you have proven yourself capable of slaying a beast such as this, it means absolutely nothing. For you see, this is nothing more than a summoned beast, it is not the real deal. Meaning if an actual Dragon were before us, we would not even be able to stand a chance against such a creature. The genuine articles, the real Dragons of this world, are at least ten times more powerful than this one you fought against and there are some who are well beyond comprehension, almost God like." Leech informed him.

"Well, at least I know where I stand on the 'Proverbial Power Chain', for lack of a better term at the moment. I am not one who goes seeking out the strongest unless I have no other choice and even then, I would try to prepare for that inevitable circumstance." Maximus said as he hovered into the air. "As I said before, I am contempt with where I am and who I am with. I will not be the one to save this world."

"Oh, so you maintain your earlier stance about this world's problems?" Leech inquired.

"I did not come to this world to save it, not at first. Meaning I was not in the right frame of mind. However, there is someone I want to protect who is living in this world alongside me. My true intent is to ensure her survival and will employ any and all methods to see it through. Now then, are you ready to meet your end?" Maximus said raising his left arm, palm opened and the same light as before shined before him.

Leech feared for a few moments which turned to a slight grin. Maximus took notice of his facial expressions and the next moment he quickly disappeared from Leech's sight. After he disappeared the Undead Dragon rose up and snapped its snout where Maximus was. Its head was still regenerating to a certain degree. It cast its gaze round about in order to search for its prey.

"I should not have made such an obvious expression else he would have been finished for sure. Now I know how strong he is, I will have to increase this beast's defenses." Leech said holding his orb forward and a light shined upon the beast. "I better ensure I do not give it too much else I will lose control over this creature." He said to himself.

Meanwhile, everyone back at the guild saw he had escaped the danger they saw arising. Aqua felt extremely relieved to see he had evaded the beast but wondered where he went.

"Please, be careful Maximus, for Dragons of this world are incredible creatures that not even the Demon King cannot hold a candle to." She said to herself as she kept praying for his safety.

Meanwhile, Maximus was sitting within a tree which had the beast and Leech in view. He studied his foes, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. The moment the Undead Dragon had turned its back to him, he saw the perfect opening. He judged the distance between them, which was nearly three-hundred yards away. He focused his energy and bolted at supersonic speeds towards Leech. His arm was positioned forward to strike a blow and when he was close another scaly hand reached up to block the attack.

The force of the impact was absorbed by the hard scales. Maximus was surprised at the speed the gigantic hand of another Dragon had appeared. He saw the hand began to close and instantly backed away. The moment he was a safe distance the right hand of the Undead Dragon slammed upon him and crushed him against the ground.

"Yes, I got him this time!" Leech said with excitement.

Meanwhile everyone within the Guild Hall once again began to fear for Maximus.

"No, I will not doubt him at all, he will get out of this, I know he will." Aqua declared but could not help but worry even more as she kept her eyes on the image.

Meanwhile back at the battlefield, The Undead Dragon removed it hand and Leech saw to his amazement, Maximus still alive. Looking down he noticed Maximus was breathing deep breathes and noted he was still standing.

"That was too close, if I did not use nearly all of my power at that moment, I would have been flattened for sure." Maximus said to himself.

He flinched in pain as his body was feeling the sharp stings his body was signaling. His head had a stream of blood flow down the left side of his face. He could feel his bones on the verge of breaking and soon felt that some were already shattered.

"This is insane," He paused for a moment to catch his breath. "To deal with Leech and one Undead Dragon is one thing, but to have another on top of all that," He paused once more. "This isn't going to end well at all, I find it both annoying and exciting that I will have to resort to this drastic move. Well, it was bound to happen one way or another." He finished his thoughts.

The next moment he focused his mind and began to employ his transformation. The next moment the Golden Circle appeared before and moved over him to transform into his Angelic Form.

Leech hovered there smiling as he was happy to finally push him into this state. "As you have said masters, whatever it takes. I also remembered you wished for me to test him. I hoped my efforts have met your standards." He whispered.

Maximus was feeling renewed of all energy and mana as his supplies were replenished. His aura flowing out of him and the entire area felt as though a heavy force was pressing down on everything. Leech began to quake at the awesome might which was before him.

"Analysis." Maximus whispered.

The next moment the spell instantly analyzed the two titanic beasts, giving him the information needed to enact a plan he was forming.

Before Leech could say a word, Maximus instantly bolted in between the two Undead Dragons launching a barrage of punches and kicks at key areas. The joints on both creatures were indented, bones breaking with every strike. Maximus formed energy blades from his knuckles and with each swing, a larger energy blade shot forth, cleaving deep through the scales and the skin. The blades struck the ligaments around the joints and soon the creatures fell to the ground.

Maximus snapped his fingers and a spark ignited into a titanic fire serpent. He motioned his hands to have the two Undead Dragons be swallowed by the attack. Leech used his mana within the orb to put out the fires and turned to where Maximus was.

The moment Leech turned he saw Maximus was gone from sight once more. Before he could say a word, the orb was gone from his grasp as his body finally registered his hand had been cut off. Soon after he noticed the odd color shining upon the ground. He turned grunting in pain and beheld Maximus high above him with a massive crimson energy ball with a smaller purple ball within it, above him.

"This is the end for all of you and maybe, if your masters are watching, they will see what will ensue should they seek after me in the future." Maximus said.

The next moment he motioned his arms down and the ball launched at supersonic speeds towards Leech and the Undead Dragons.

"I hope I have done well for you masters." Leech said feeling a little saddened that he may not have lived up to their expectations.

The ball engulfed his body, disintegrating it almost instantly. When the ball struck the ground, a bright light illuminated forth intensely. The shockwave forced the ground to open up as it quaked to and fro. The fireball engulfed everything in it wake as the entire forest was leveled out of existence. It continued to expand for nearly two miles wide and the titanic mushroom cloud rose to the clouds above and the shockwave pushed them away. Several rings surrounded the cloud as it continued to rise.

From the vision of the familiar the Guild staff member was employing; everyone shielded their eyes from the light. After a few moments, the image disappeared and everyone was beginning to wonder what happened. Some doubted he survived as the others thought otherwise.

Aqua felt the need to return to the castle's location and the others asked her before she could open the door.

"Aqua, where are you going?" Luna asked.

"I am going to go get him." She said.

"But what about,"

"He is alive and he won the battle!" Aqua snapped at Darkness before she could go on.

"Wait, how do you know that?" Kazuma inquired.

"I just know." Aqua replied opening the doors and began to run to the forest near the castle.

Maximus felt exhausted for employing that tactic and glided down to the ground within the massive crater under him. He laid there for a few moments before his transformation into his human form. His breathing was rapid as he remembered the last time he had gone so far in a fight. His body was in a deep state of fatigue he eventually passed out from the bite of exhaustion.

The four of them arrived at the area and began to look for Maximus. After searching for nearly an hour, Aqua found him upon the ground. She quickly ran towards him with a little sense of fear mounting as she first thought the worst until she saw him breathing when she got closer. They brought him back to town and waited for him to awaken.

Meanwhile within a castle far away from the battlefield, the Demon King and a few of his Generals had watched the battle unfold.

"Well, that was an impressive display this foe has put on for us." Sylvia said feeling impressed.

"Yes indeed, to think there are beings such as he in this world. Yet I feel as though he is not from here, because I have not heard of this one in recent years up until now. Someone such as he would have caught our attention long ago. Which means someone brought him here, someone of divine origin is capable of such a ploy." Wolbach said.

"How odd, I thought the Forces of Heaven were to maintain a noninterference clause with the Mortal Realm. I guess someone decided to break that once again, then again, there has not been another New Hero since the emergence of this one. Could whoever had been responsible for this faced discipline in some way?" A man's voice echoed and he stepped out of the shadows of the large room.

"It is possible to assume that, by the way Hans, are preparations nearing completion?" Sylvia inquired.

"Sadly no, we have run into a snag. Turns out some other upstart is making more waves than this foe. His name is Kyouya Mitsurugi and he wields a Curse Sword named Gram. According to the rumors, the sword can kill anything in one strike." Hans replied.

"An impressive weapon, I look forward to the idea of assimilating it as a part of my being. But this presents a problem on two fronts now, we should devise a plan of action against,"

"It matters not," Another man's voice echoed from the other side of the large room.

"Your Majesty." The three of them said in unison as they knelt before him.

"I believe the words of this Maximus are true and if he desires his space, then we should oblige him that reprieve. Besides, a person who wields a weapon that can kill anything in one blow is far more dangerous than one who is indeed powerful yet wishes to be left alone. Those types, the one Maximus can be counted as, are such people who will arise when challenged. In the future, we should tread carefully as to not interfere with him. As for this Kyouya, we should seek him out and destroy him." The Demon King instructed.

"As you command." They said in unison.

Three days had passed since the fight with Leech and Maximus finally awoken from his exhausted state. Before he opened his eyes, his body felt the comfy sensations of a bed against his back. Before he sat up, he also felt the warmth of someone pressed against his chest. He opened his eyes to look around and saw a ceiling in front of him before turning his head down and saw Aqua resting upon him. He grinned a little seeing a familiar face which had an exhausted look accompanied with a small amount of stress.

He moved his right hand up to place it upon her head when she awoke from her tired slumber. She had sensed his movement and slowly sat up with her eyes barely opening. The moment she saw his eyes were open, she instantly latched onto him.

"Maximus, you're finally awake, by the Gods I so happy to see you are alright!" She shouted with overwhelming relief as tears of joy began to form in her eyes.

She planted her face into his chest. Her tears flowed down upon his clothing as she cried seeing him finally waking up. Maximus' grin grew to a smile as he embraced her within his arms. He pressed his cheek against the top of her head.

"By the way, how long was I out for?" He inquired.

"Three whole days." She barely blurted out.

"I was that exhausted from the fight, guess it goes to show you how strong two summoned Dragons and a Lich can be, even if it wasn't the genuine article." He paused his thoughts for a moment to look down at Aqua. "If that be the case, I can only scarcely imagine how powerful a real Dragon will be. I will need to make it a point to avoid them at all cost, at least until I am strong enough to hold my own against one should the need arise." He said to himself. "By the way, where are we?" He inquired.

Aqua quickly sat up unsure how to respond and began to wonder if he had lost his memories once more.

"What do you mean by that?" She said sniffing her nose and began to prepare for the worst.

"I think it is only logical to ask where one's self is after a long period of being out. Not to mention I almost thought we would have been back at the stables laying upon the uncomfortable haystack like we always did rather than a bed." He replied.

She sniffed her nose again and wipe the tears from her eyes. "We are at the Inn within one of their rooms they were finally available to give us." She replied and paused for a moment. "Wait, did you say, 'like we always did' as in you remember,"

"Everything since I first met you, yes." He said before she could finish.

"Wait, when did you get all of your memories back?" She inquired.

"During the battle when you were unconscious and not breathing, I guess something ticked and next thing I knew, I was remembering everything. Which by the way," He paused to sit up to look her in the eyes for a moment before closing them and pressed his forehead against hers. "Oh, Goddess Aqua, please forgive this humble servant for making you worry too much and bless this wonderful day we have started. Amen." He finished his prayer.

"You do remember everything." She said feeling happy to hear him pray to her once more.

She began to feel overjoyed and before letting her feelings run wild, she quickly regained her composure.

"Fear not kind sir, the Goddess is all forgiving and will absolve you of your sins. Now, go thy way and enjoy this day with her. Also, the Goddess wishes to ask for your forgiveness for interfering with your life as it was not her place to do so. Will you give this to her?" She replied with humility and grace.

The two opened their eyes and stared back at each other for a few moments.

"I believe I have dragged it on long enough since the last time you asked, with that said I do forgive you, Aqua." He replied.

He leaned forward a little closing his eyes and she matched him as well. The moment they were about to kiss, Kazuma opened the door and saw Maximus was awake.

"Hey everyone, Maximus is awake!" He shouted behind him to the others down the hall.

The two stopped in place and Aqua felt infuriated with the interruption. "Kazuma!" Aqua shouted in anger.

"Huh, what's wrong Aqua?" He inquired feeling confused.

"God Blow!" Aqua shouted as she instantly slammed her fist against Kazuma's jaw before he could react.

Kazuma fell to the floor feeling the intense pain from the impact. His head had a spinning notion which was spiraling out of control as his vision was filled with stars.

"Don't you know how to knock first before barging in on someone. Especially if said someone is having a meaningful connection with another person! By the Gods, I will flatten your head like a pancake!" She shouted with furious intent and readied another attack.

Maximus took her in his arm as she began to kick and scream at Kazuma. Both of her fist was infused with her Godly Aura swinging her arms back and forth.

"Aqua," He said with grace in her ear and she turned around to look up at him. "Don't let this get to you." He finished and kissed her forehead for a few seconds and she stopped moving around. "Besides, we can come back to this another time. For now, I am starving." He said.

Aqua smiled. "Then let's head down to get something to eat." She said in a cheerful manner and the two made their way to get something to eat while dragging Kazuma there as well.


	20. Chapter 20

**Seeds of a Rivalry & a Wish Comes True:**

A week has passed since the battle against Leech and Maximus was sitting at the table within the Guild Hall. His mind going over an important detail he was informed the day he awoke from his fatigued state. He was informed by Aqua and the others nearly all of their money had been paid to the Blacksmith for the damaged equipment.

"I cannot believe that overrated slug would pull something like that while I was asleep. Any other person would be grateful someone had the wherewithal to take command and save the town. But no, this town so far is filled to the brim with idiots, underachievers, and ungrateful people. Well, see if I ever step in to help this town out again." He said to himself feeling his frustration move into anger.

He turned his attention briefly back at the Quest Board.

"Quests are getting fewer in number making it harder to earn money to make it through the winter, which is unforgiving from what I have been told before. With money on the level of being scarce, I had reached such a desperate level, I ended up taking one where I was nothing more than a genuine pig for some Arch-Wizard. It paid very decent for the few experiments he wanted to do and I even taught him some things about magic he surprisingly did not know about. That helped out so well, he added extra to my total amount earned." He paused for a moment rubbing his right shoulder. "I still can't believe I lost my focus long enough for him to damage me from being so bored." He chuckled at himself.

He turned to the desk and saw Luna cleaning it and remembered a conversation he had with her. "I am surprised she took it well about me and Aqua beginning our relationship. Also, the whole Harem nonsense Chris sputtered out had a distasteful feeling in her mind as well. I find it funny how I was just being too kind to those women, but it is over and done with. I guess deep down she is a kind soul, I will say had it not been for me to choose to bring Aqua along, I could see myself with her."

The next moment his mind went back to their situation. "I need to find a way to earn more money, at least enough to get us through winter. Right now, Aqua took a needle and some thread and began making clothing for the winter coming up to sell. It is so surprising that a talent such as that was not explored more so than before. She also has been making random artistic items such as fake flowers and other craft items, which all together has yielded a good income, but she has stated people have not been buying of late. I wonder if it is because everyone is preparing for winter. Oh well, at least she repaired my clothing and stated she blessed it so they would not damage so easily. She even added a little extra onto it." He said looking down at his clothing.

It was all the same as before but she added waves of water along the trimmings and ends of the sleeves. The buttons on the coat were a mint green with a patch of yellow at the bottom. She also added a crest of her own making on the left side of the coat upon the outside pocket. It was an etching of water waving around a single mint green jewel, with a gold ring around it, as though it were a blossoming flower made of water.

He held his hand above it and smiled a little remembering when she gave him his clothes. Her smile became larger and her face shined more noticeably.

The doors opened and Aqua walked in wiping her forehead. She looked around and saw Maximus sitting at one of the tables as promised.

"Maximus," She said in a cheerful tone with a smile as she dashed towards him. "Are you ready?" She inquired.

Maximus nodded and walked over to her. She wrapped her arms around his left arm to be escorted and they both walked up the second floor. The two began to do a routine involving her Nature's Beauty and him playing an Ocarina. When she first saw him playing with it the other day, she concocted another method to earn money. The two performed several numbers they had practiced beforehand and everyone was enjoying the show.

Meanwhile another Adventurer was standing in a far off distant desolate mountain region of the country. Standing firm and tall before the most powerful creature in all the land. A Dragon; counted among the most powerful of all dragons. Known to all as the Ancient Dragons. The fierce titanic beast hissed at its opponent and took a step towards him.

In the background were two scantily clad young ladies huddling together in fear. Trembling before the mighty creature, they begged the young hero to run away. Despair gripped their minds as they could not move a muscle.

"Kyouya," One of them shouted to get his attention. "We should run away right now this monster is too dangerous for us to face!"

"No, I have to defeat this beast to ensure this world's survival." He calmly said without a single ounce of fear in his body. "I must, to ensure this world is saved from all manner of evil, defeat anyone who stands against all things good and just." He said to himself.

He began to remember the moment he met Aqua, who gave him the choice to reincarnate into this world. The words of him being this world's Hero rang loudly in his head. He was also captivated by her beauty and wished he could see her again, even if only for a moment.

He raised his sword in the air and soon the blade was filled with a bright white light. "Now, die!" He shouted swinging his sword, Gram, and launched an energy blade upon the titanic beast, slaying it in one shot.

The Dragon's body fell lifeless to the ground and the young women cheered as they quickly took hold of his arms. Their cheerful cries followed as though they had never doubted him in the first place.

"It's time to return to Axel, I hear there is trouble that is in the works." He said and they nodded their heads in agreement.

Later that afternoon, they arrived at the Guild Hall and the few people which were close to the door noticed him.

"Look it's Kyouya, what did you slay this time?" One of them asked.

"I was able to best the Ancient Dragon far to the north that was plaguing a nearby village." He replied humbly.

"That's amazing, now we have two Dragon Slayers in town." Mohawk said patting Kyouya's back.

"Wait are you serious, who is the other person that can slay a Dragon?" He asked with amazement and wondered who it could be. "Did Mi Lady send another Hero to this world besides me?" He said to himself.

"Yeah," Mohawk turned towards Maximus pointing at him with his thumb. "He is right over there sitting next to his woman. The town of Axel is in safe hands now that both of its Dragon Slayers are here. That will make the Demon King think twice before coming around here." He began to laugh as he walked away.

The moment before Kyouya was to take a step, he noticed who was sitting right beside Maximus. His eyes could not believe what they saw and for a moment he could not move a muscle. He at first thought it was a dream or a deception his eyes were trying to employ. The next moment he heard the sound of her voice as she laughed uncontrollably.

Moments prior to Kyouya entering, Aqua and Maximus were sitting at one of the tables as he was wrapping up a story about his friends and he, being together doing something goofy. She was laughing so hard her stomach was aching in pain and leaned against him. His arm was around her, holding her close the entire time.

"I can't believe you and your friends did such a thing, that is hysterical!" Aqua barely said as her laughter was echoing loudly through the whole Guild Hall.

"You should have been there to see it in person." Maximus stopped for a moment as his mind wandered and he could not help but wonder how his friends were.

Aqua began to regain her composure and slightly turned her body as she placed her hand on his chest. "Is everything alright?" She inquired sensing his demeaner change.

"Huh, yeah, everything is alright. I had just realized that that was it though, that was the last time we were all together as I left the next night to head west to join my country's military to follow in the footsteps of my grandfather, Marcus." He said trailing his gaze off to the side.

"Do you miss them?" She asked with a hint of sadness.

"I would be lying if I said I do not." He replied.

"I am sure they are alright, as you said the other day, there was someone would make the enemies of your world look like infants fighting against a giant in terms of abilities." She stopped for a moment to sit upon his lap to look him in the eye with her left shoulder pressed against his chest. "I am actually glad we crossed paths and that you brought me along, even if I did not like it at first. But you have been watching over me ever since we started our adventure. Maximus, I want to say something to you for a little while now, and that's,"

"Mi Lady!" Kyouya shouted.

Aqua went from enjoying her time spent with Maximus straight to being frustrated. Her chance at telling Maximus how she felt about him yet again slipped away by another interruption. She looked over where the voice shouted from with a vengeful glare in her eyes, feeling the meaningful moment the two were having be ripped the very next. She clenched her fists and fired her right hand forward to the one who interfered with her meaningful conversation.

"God Blow!" She shouted.

Her fist slammed upon Kyouya's jaw and he was sent to the ground almost instantly. She quickly took hold of his clothing underneath his plate mail armor.

"How dare you interfere with a Goddess' conversation with the one she cares deeply for! You shall know despair in the foulest parts of Hell you lowly dog!" She shouted raising her fist once more filled with her Goddess aura.

"I think her God Blow is improving since I last saw it on display. Her level has gone up quite a bit after that battle with the Lich and his Undead Dragons. Which reminds me, I wonder why my adventure card has disappeared and the crystal ball cannot take a reading from me. Could it be because of the deal I made with Eris and the forces of heaven? No matter, I better make sure Aqua does not end this poor soul's life." He said to himself.

Before she could send her next strike upon Kyouya, Maximus took hold of her wrist and she instantly stopped. She saw Maximus gestured her to stand up.

"Aqua, I think one blow has done him in. Besides if you hit him with another strike, I believe you will end him here and now." He said helping her up.

Her face had a sad look and began to have the same cute puffy demeaner. Tears began to form as she could not get over the fact, she had been cheated out of say what her feelings were for him. She saw his face had a welcoming smile and leaned down to kiss her forehead. After he finished, they turned to see Kyouya was still slightly unconscious on the floor.

"Now, I think we should see who this fellow is and why it sounded like he knew you somehow. Do you recall who this young man is?" He asked feeling curious about the young man. "If he recognized her, that must mean he must have been sent to this world like Kazuma and I was." He said to himself.

Aqua study Kyouya's appearance with her right index finger over her lips standing at each side of him. "No, I do not recall him at all." She said with no memory sparking up about him.

"Hey, what have you done with my Kyouya, you fiend." One of the girls with pink hair shouted at Maximus.

"Yeah, what she said. Also, since when is he your Kyouya?" The other girl with green hair followed suit.

"Who are these two supposed to be?" Maximus asked out loud turning his head towards them.

"They look like a couple of hussies who are nothing more than just eye candy for him to look at. Or they are just clingy fangirls who are just around him because he is cool or something." She said with no emotion towards them.

"Yet you forgot about the time you were clingy too with me." Maximus shot at her in a teasing manner.

"Huh, that was different, because my clinginess grew into something deeper." She shot back at him.

Maximus smiled a little and helped Kyouya off the floor. He sat him on the bench and snapped his fingers. He used his magic to cause his mind to regain its functionality.

Kyouya's vision was beginning to focus once more and he saw Maximus sitting opposite side of the table before him with Aqua at his side.

"Mi Lady, is it really you?" He inquired.

"Who are you?" Aqua asked in a demanding tone.

"It is I, Kyouya Mitsurugi. You gracefully reincarnated me into this world with this sword, Gram, you yourself forged for me." He replied feeling as though he were on the brink of collapsing mentally if she did not recognize him.

She studied him a little further with a concentrated gaze. "Oh, right, you are that guy. Sorry I forgot all about you, I helped so many people crossover to this world, I am bond to forget a few of you all here and there." She giggled out.

"Uh, yeah." Kyouya said not sure how to respond.

"Well, interesting reunion for the two of you however, Aqua, I believe we better get back to our place before we get carried away. Besides, you said there was something you wanted to show me." Maximus said standing up. "That explains it all then on how he knows her." He said to himself.

"Hold up," Kyouya turned towards him with his hand gesturing him to stay. "I have to ask you, how is she even here right now?" He inquired. "I got to figure out how she is here in the Mortal Realm and why. Did something happen to her and if so, is he responsible for her unfortunate predicament?" He wondered to himself beginning to glare at Maximus.

Maximus sighed with a little frustration as he sensed the intense stare, he was receiving from Kyouya. "I do not see the need to inform you about anything revolving her at all. Why do you even want to know anyway?" He inquired.

"Because… she is… umm," Kyouya paused for a moment feeling embarrassed and nervous at the same time looking down at the table.

"You're kidding me, he is infatuated with her! Heh, you should have snagged her when you had the chance. Although, I highly doubt this boy would have the strength of character to put up with her silliness. Not to mention he would have nothing except her and would not be able to do anything to impress her. I will admit it was quite the chore to muster through, but in the end, I eventually saw the charm she possessed. No way this flower is going to be tainted by your honey little fool." Maximus said to himself.

Aqua began to feel uncomfortable being near him and leaned to whisper at Maximus. "Hey, I am not so sure about this guy, something about him is giving me the heebie-jeebies something fierce, I can sense it. I feel like he is going to be trouble with a capital T."

Maximus nodded in agreement. "Come on Aqua, let us go home for the night." He said standing up.

"Wait I need to know how she is here!" Kyouya slammed his hands on the table causing Aqua to flinch in fear. Maximus was becoming annoyed but wanted to maintain his composure.

Maximus sighed once more. "Well, here goes," He said and began to tell him how she was brought by him to this realm and a few details of their journey.

"What?" Kyouya shouted in disbelief. "You mean to tell me you are the reason Mi Lady is stuck here all because you forced her to come with you!" He took hold of Maximus' coat with anger mounting by the second.

"N-no, it's not like, you see I don't mind he brought me along. Ever since he did, he has done nothing but watched out for me so I could return home. Although, I am not so sure about that now, but I have had loads of fun being here. We have been on quests, started doing shows here at the Guild, and we even sleep together every night in the stables as well." Aqua informed him.

"Are you serious, you monster! Not only did you drag her here but you are forcing her to sleep with you every night in the filthy stables! How could you treat a Goddess like that?!" Kyouya raised his voice a little more.

Maximus allowed himself to let a little of his anger show as he took hold of Kyouya's wrist. He applied a little pressure to let him know he was going too far.

"This little upstart is beginning to annoy me." He said to himself. "Who do you think you are, storming up in here and making a scene that I am sure will tarnish your name. You march up to me as though you have a chip on your shoulder that I put there. I would understand your frustration were any thoughts you might be thinking about me and Aqua are true. The kind that is unsavory in nature, however, they are not. I am not forcing myself upon her in any manner that would tarnish my name. The connection and feelings between her and I are not fabricated in any way, they are true. Built ever since we started and watched it blossom to what it is now. And no boy scout with a fancy plate of armor, and curiously made sword is going to separate us. Let alone anyone else. So, what I will say to you good sir is unhand me, begone from my sight, and have a good evening to you!" He said feeling his anger growing to the point it was boiling over.

Maximus let his wrist go for a moment and soon noticed Kyouya was not unhanding him. Maximus placed his hands back on Kyouya's wrists and began to force them off his coat. Both of their strengths were evenly matched and Maximus was surprised at his strength.

"You cannot be serious right now, how does he have this much strength? How is he matching my strength, one who is a descendant of the Nephilim? There must be an explanation to this." Maximus said to himself trying to move his hands away from him. "I wonder if he received some sort of boost when he reincarnated here. It would make sense if that is the case."

The next moment Aqua and the other girls were standing there not sure what to do until she approached Kyouya.

"Listen, I am sure we can all talk this out as reasonable adults, no?" She inquired.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" An adventurer asked out loud from the other side of the Guild Hall.

"Kyouya and Maximus are about to fight over a girl." Another one said.

"Man, can they not take it outside so it doesn't disturb us?" The previous one said.

The next moment Kyouya let go of Maximus coat and took a step back. "Let us settle this outside." He said turning around.

"Why should I even indulge you, if you are indeed going to do what I believe you are about to employ, you can forget it." Maximus said brushing his coat and straighten it. "Little punk made it wrinkle and he even ripped it! Wars and fights between many men have been started for less." He said to himself looking down at his coat. "Do you realize how much effort Aqua put into this coat? She slaved all day and night to present me with this and you made a tear. You are lucky I am still in a good mood else I would have half a mind to beat you into the ground where you belong you lowly dog!" Maximus snapped at him.

"We are going to have a duel for the right to have Aqua in our party. Do you accept my challenge?" Kyouya asked turning around.

"Tsk, you should have asked about a friendly sparring match to see how you measure up against me. Instead you do the most predictable thing imaginable. I would rather fight you for other reasons. Besides, Aqua is right here and can speak for herself on who she wants to join. All you have to do is ask. But you are an insolent cur and would dare suggest such that ploy as if I am her owner. The nerve of you to assume that and act in such a manner is shameful, disrespectful, and unforgivable. So, I will say I am disinclined to acquiesce your request." Maximus replied.

Kyouya stood there not sure what he said at the end.

"It means I am not interested in accepting your challenge." Maximus said taking off his coat to look at the damage to it.

Aqua stepped to his side and was a little angry at Kyouya for damaging her gift to Maximus. She decided to remain silent and not say a word to him as the two of them made their way out of the Guild Hall.

"I cannot believe he tore this, I put a lot of work into this, that little weasel I have half a mind to punch him in his face." Aqua said feeling angry while looking at the coat and was on the verge of sadness.

The next moment Maximus picked her up. "I know you did, when we get back to the castle you can stitch it up to be as good as new."

"You're right and while we are on that subject, I finished the interior of the entire place that I did not want you to see yet. I know you are going to like it." She giggled a little and wrapped her arm around his neck.

"Wait!" Kyouya shouted.

Before he could say another word, Maximus leaped up into the air and was flying off into the distance.

"I will win her over." Kyouya declared knowing Maximus already had a head start.

"Man, that guy does not know how to quit, I feel as though I have gained a rival in not only in a competitive way, but a way to compete for your affections. I believe we are going to run into him a lot more now." Maximus said feeling annoyed.

"You don't have to worry; I only have eyes for you." She kissed his forehead and smiled.

"I know you do and I am not worried about him trying to hopelessly gain your attention in any futile attempts. I feel as though he will seek to challenge me quite often of which he will try to say that I agreed to fight him for the right to have you in either party. Good grief, I almost want to not return to town for quite some time if that be the case in the hopes he will give up." He said wondering what to do about the situation.

The next moment the two glided down before the doors to the castle and he snapped his fingers to employ his magic to open them. Her hands were over his eyes as they began to enter into their new home. The doors closed behind them and she removed her hands.

"Okay, now open your eyes." She instructed him.

Maximus opened his eyes and saw the many curtains she had made for the tall windows. They were in the same color scheme as her outfit. A solid sapphire blue at the center with gold trimmings and had the same crest she had placed on his coat litter the entire center.

The rug before them was a sky blue which stretched all the way through the hall. The windows were also accompanied with small nightstands with flower vases on top. The many bouquet of flowers was pink and red. The various furniture was polished so sharply, their image was reflecting off it.

"Come on, there is more to show you." She giggled as she danced down the hall pulling his arm behind her.

They arrived at the door to the room she had picked out for the two of them that rested in one of the towers. Once they entered, he saw the same sharp finish that was at the front hall. The master bed had red bed curtains attached to the poles. The bed itself was dressed in a sapphire blue blanket that bore the same crest upon it. The pillows were also sky blue and the furniture in the bedroom had the same polished finish as the rest of them.

"Well, what do you think?" She inquired as she saw his stunned gaze look around the room.

"This is amazing, how did you find time to finish this?" He asked.

"Well, I had a lot of time in between work and our shows at the guild. Plus, the spell you initially used to repair the structure and foundation helped a lot." She replied smiling up at him.

"I now know why you wanted me to stay away from this place and insist we sleep at the Inn until now. You are amazing at this, I am beginning to think we should have looked into this right after we got here, but it matters not." He stopped to turn his gaze back at her. "I will admit, all of this still pales in comparison to you." He said to flirt with her.

He took his coat from her and placed it on the bed.

"Hey, nighttime is approaching, let us go and look at the stars for a bit." He suggested and she quickly nodded with a smile.

He took her in his arms and she wrapped her arm around his neck and the next moment he teleported the two of them outside, hovered over the castle, high in the air. She looked around and saw the vast open sky. When she turned to the west, she saw a single star shining brightly.

Look there, it's the first star in the night's sky." She said and the next moment a shooting star shot across the sky and over the single star. "Oh wow, a shooting star as well." She added and turned to Maximus with her hand gently caressing his cheek. "Do you know what they say about shooting stars that fly over the first star and what they are called?" She asked.

"I am afraid I'm unfamiliar with such a tale. What do people say about them?" Maximus asked knowing full well what she was going to say.

"It is known as the God's Blink and any wish made from it will come true." She replied.

"And what did you wish for?" He said to tease her a little more.

The next moment she flicked his forehead. "You silly, you should know better, for if you say it out loud it will never come true." She began to giggle.

They both had their eyes locked onto one another, staring deep into them as if to peer into each other's soul. She began to move a little towards him and he mirrored her. Before closing her eyes, she had something on her mind she wished to confess to him.

"Maximus, there is something I have been wanting to say for a little while now." She said gracefully.

Maximus remembered the last time she tried to confess what he already knew she was going to say. He was glad they were far away from everyone as to not have any interference.

"That is to say, I love you." She said slowly not to let it be shot out and she waited for his response.

His face formed a smile and she felt a little nervous and more so excited as she knew the words he was going to say. "Aqua, I love you too."

They leaned closer to each other and engaged in their first kiss under the purple and sapphire blue sky. Their lips gently pressed against each other and the salty taste followed soon after. Their tongues danced around within their mouths gracefully.

Aqua felt ecstatic at not only confessing her love to him, but also receiving her first kiss she had never experienced before and glad it was with him. From their exchange that was progressing, she could tell he was a passionate sort and had most likely kissed someone else before her in the same manner.

They wrapped up their kiss and she felt herself shaking a little with newfound feelings which were foreign to her. Her breathing was a little rapid in that moment and she kept her eyes closed feeling his passionate touch still lingering on her lips. She felt a new sensation tingle all over her body as if completely connected to him, a new sense of devotion, deeper than what she felt when they first started their journey.

"I am going to have him tonight, all to myself, and I hope he wants the same." She said to herself.

Maximus could sense the strong bond they were sharing in the moment and was thinking about her a little more. He pressed his forehead against hers and made sure his eyes would not open yet until he sensed she was going to.

"It feels like an eternity since I have been this close to anyone," He paused for a moment swallowing the saliva within his mouth. "And yet, holding her this close in this manner makes me want her tonight more than anything." He finished his thought.

The next moment they both opened their eyes at the same time.

"Let's go," They both started at the same time and stopped to laugh a little.

"Shall we retire to our room?" Aqua inquired.

"I would like nothing more." He replied.

The next moment he teleported them both into their room and he raised her up to have her look down upon him. She had a large grin, stretching from ear to ear, and a soft caring gaze. She leaned down to kiss him a little more while wrapping her arms around his head.

He walked over to the bed to gently placed her down upon it, stopping their kiss. He moved to lay next to her with his left arm wrapping underneath her side and resting it on her lower back. His right hand caressed her left side of her face as she wrapped both arms around his neck and the two leaned closer to each other.

After a few moments of kissing, she moved him to lay on his back and she mounted his waist. She stopped feeling her nerves skyrocketing throughout her body. She was extremely nervous for what was to come next. She sat there for a few moments collecting herself until she finally mustered up the courage to speak to him.

"Maximus," She said with a loving tone. "I am ready for you."


	21. Chapter 21

**First Meetings with a New Foe?:**

The next morning both Aqua and Maximus were laying in the bed, both of them wrapped in each other's arms. The light of the morning sun shined throughout the room and into the small gap between the thick bed curtains which were draped down on each side.

Maximus' eyes saw the stream of light barely lit the inside. A part of him did not want to leave her side and had the thought to ignore the call from the sun to wake up. He looked down at Aqua and noticed her peaceful state. Her soft fair skin upon his body was a welcoming feel as they laid there naked under the blanket.

"I don't want to get up, last night ended so well for us both starting with that kiss under the single star with the last little light of the sun nearly below the horizon. Then moved to the two of us having such a passionate night. I remember how nervous she was, shaking so much when she mounted me and who could blame her, it was her first time and mine as well." He paused for moment, studying her a little more.

He saw she was not sleeping with her mouth open like she usually does. Her right hand rested upon his chest and her right leg sprawled across his waist. The warmth of her body had a welcoming embrace to it. Her head resting upon his shoulder.

He soon noticed he was not sore like usual and wondered how that was. He gave it no more thought as his mind circled back about her.

"I just want to stay in this bed with her in my arms and just cuddle the day away. In fact, I may end up doing that anyway." He said to himself.

Aqua soon woke up and had an exhausted smile on her face. Her eyes weighing heavy and she rubbed them a little as she yawned.

"Good morning Maximus, did you sleep well?" She inquired looking up at him.

"After last night's event, I will say with much confidence, yes indeed. Having you in my arms does the trick for me. How about you, I trust your night's rest was pleasurable." He replied.

She turned away a little, looking down as last night's event was still fresh in her mind. She remembered how her heart was pounding against her chest when she mounted him at the start, she was so nervous. She looked back up at him and smiled once more.

"Yes," She moved up to kiss him once more. "I did sleep quite well."

He moved his right hand and gracefully rubbed the backside of his fingers against her cheek. Their eyes focusing into each other's for a moment.

"Maximus, I want to stay here, in this bed for the rest of the day and not leave it at all. Because if we do, the moment we touch the floor,"

"We will lose the feeling from last night as a new day would or could change things." He said to finish what she was saying.

She nodded her head and began to lean down to kiss him once more. The moment their lips were about to touch, the entire castle was rocked by a sudden and violent eruption. The explosion rattled everything in the room, causing some of the furniture to fall over or move from their spots.

"What in all of Heaven is going on?" Maximus shouted with bewilderment.

They both held onto each other until the vibrations stopped.

"Was that who I think it was and if so, why did she have to ruin this moment and at this hour?!" Aqua wondered as anger quickly mounted.

She took hold of the blanket and ran to the window. After opening it, she cast her gaze around the field of view to look for the obvious culprit. Aside for the large smoke cloud she could not find Megumin as the trees acted as cover or she fired her spell from a distance.

She took a deep breath and shouted to the open air. "Megumin, when I find you, I will make you regret interfering with my most precious morning, you hear!" Her voice echoed across the top of the trees. "I know you are giggling like an idiot right now as well!"

Maximus could not help but smile a little as he chuckled a bit and soon felt angry about the interruption as well.

"So, how much damage did she cause?" He asked knowing Megumin would try something while he was going to live in the castle.

"Huh," Aqua turned around for a moment briefly then looked around. "I don't see anything that has been damaged from where I am standing." She said feeling a little curious about the situation. "Did he predict she would employ such a thing!" She said to herself.

He snapped his fingers to form a bird familiar and sent it out the window. Brushing by her at high speeds, the magical animal almost blew the blanket from her grasp. For a few moments he saw her exposed buttocks and smiled.

"Hey, what are you doing? You almost blew the blanket away!" She snapped at him holding onto it tightly.

"That was the point in an effort to get you away from the window to have you come back to me." He said chuckling.

"Hmph, the mood is spoiled now anyway, I am going to get dressed." She said to tease him.

The familiar circled the castle and saw no visible damage at all. It continued until it found Megumin being carried off by Darkness in the forest.

"It did not burn to ash as you had hoped. The punishment he will likely thrust upon you is mind numbing. Oh, if only he were to do that to me more often. Yet he seems to only have eyes for Aqua and had not done his usual berating to me. Which is something I deeply miss." She said with the thought of him tormenting her.

The familiar flew upward and noticed the direction they were heading. The next moment it vanished after relaying the information to him.

"As I suspected, Megumin did in fact cast her spell upon the castle and in a twist, Darkness seems to be helping her this time. What are they up to?" Maximus wondered out loud.

"I would definitely like to know, because they spoiled my morning." Aqua pouted with a displeased look.

"Well, we can always start over again by having you join me." He said with an inviting gesture.

Her face had a smile and returned to him immediately. She dropped the blanket and rushed over to jump into the bed with him. She laid on top of him looking into his eyes as the curtains closed.

"By the way, how did you know she was going to do that?" She inquired keeping her gaze focused on him.

"Ever since she last casted that spell on the castle before battling against Leech, I noticed she had not employed her spell. I am surprised she waited this long to use it. So, I cast a bounded field to repel all magical attacks. But it seems the field did not work as expected." He explained as his mind trailed off.

"What do you mean by that? I thought it worked perfectly fine." She wondered.

"Her spell was still powerful enough to cause the castle to quake, so I will have to employ a stronger one before tomorrow." He replied.

"What if she is inside the bounded field?" She asked.

"If that were to happen, the Anti-Magic within will activate and zap all her mana before she can cast it. You will not be able to see or sense it, but there are pockets within the air which will activate once a spell, outside my own design, is activated. Theses gaps will unleash small amounts of the Anti-Magic to cancel the spell depending on its potency. From there the field itself will absorb the mana supply of any intruder." He explained. "Now then, where were we?" He said placing his hand on her face once more.

The next moment a knock was upon the front door to the castle. They both heard it from the small magical device Maximus had employed at the door last night when they entered. Both of them wondered who it could be and Maximus employed another familiar to investigate.

"Why does this seem to happen?" She wondered out loud on the verge of crying. "Can a Goddess spend an entire day with her lover without someone interrupting! I finally get to have you last night in a meaningful way and wanted it to last throughout today as well! I wonder who dares have the nerve to do such a thing!" She shouted with her anger mounting by the second as she sat up clenching her fist.

The next moment the familiar was beginning to land by the door and a tall pole formed from the ground for it to rest on.

"Oh, well, hello there. Have you been sent to welcome me into this castle?" The man inquired having a sense of curiosity.

The familiar studied his appearance, relaying what it saw to Maximus. His hair was long and blonde in color with eyes blue as the sea. The clothing he wore was that of a nobleman or someone who was employed by one.

"Shall I attempt to communicate with you or will your master be joining us soon?" He asked in a playful manner as though he knew what was before him.

Maximus exited out of the familiar and began to sit up to get out of the bed.

"Uh hey," Aqua protested him getting up from the bed and away from her embrace. "So, who is it?" She inquired.

"I am not sure, I have never seen this man before, have you?" Maximus inquired as he held out his hand and a magical image of the person at the door appeared.

Aqua tilted her head a little and soon a flash of an old memory appeared. "I do remember him when I went to borrow money from the Loaner. He was sitting in the back on one of my visit's to get money, but I never got to know his name." She responded.

"Great," He paused his thought, snapping his fingers to have their clothing appear on them. "I had a feeling this would come back, but not in this way." He mumbled out.

Aqua was feeling sad by her clothing suddenly appearing. "Oh, I wanted to tease you while I get dressed for today." She said.

"You can make it up to me by undressing out of those clothes and into your pajamas tonight." He said with a grin and his eyes focused on her.

"I hope you will enjoy the show for tonight, I may even give you something extra afterward." She said giggling with a wink.

"I will hold you to that then." He said leaning down and the two kissed. Their lips quickly pecked each other and he leaned back up. "Now, let us go welcome our unexpected guest."

She nodded and the next moment the two appeared before the front door to their home. Once the doors opened the man stood with a confused look on his face.

"Hello, how can I help you? Are you lost and in need of directions? If you are looking for Axel, follow the main road at the bottom of the hill west and you will arrive there in a short time." Maximus said wondering who the man could be.

"Oh no, I am here to discuss something with you my good sir. May I enter into your domicile, please?" He asked with a cheerful smile.

"It is rude to not offer your name before entering a stranger's residence." Maximus said still studying his every move and demeaner.

"Oh, my apologies, where are my manners, my name is Maxwell. I have been sent here to discuss a business proposition my master wishes to offer you." He replied.

"Very well, my name is Maximus. Please come in so we can discuss this proposition further." Maximus said standing off to the side.

Aqua tugged on his sleeve of his black shirt and he leaned down for her to whisper into his ear. "Hey, what is the big idea? I am sensing something off about this guy." She said feeling a little hostile and fear mixed within.

"It will be alright, besides, if he tries anything magic wise, he will not be able to employ any spells within the bounded field." He whispered back.

Aqua was still unsure about the situation but decided to remain close to Maximus as his words from before came to mind. They walked their way to the living room and sat upon the red furniture. She sat right next to Maximus still clinging to him with her arms around his left arm as Maxwell sat across from them.

"Shall I offer you tea to lighten the mood a bit before we begin?" Maximus inquired and snapped his fingers.

The next moment a tea set appeared on the small coffee table in between them. Aqua was amazed at how he could do such an employ of magic.

"Why yes, tea would help with the mood. Tell me, do you have,"

Before Maxwell could go on, Maximus snapped his fingers once more. He had already read his mind on the tea he wished for and it appeared in the cup before him. Maxwell was astonished at Maximus' skill. He reached down and began to fix it the way he liked and took a sip.

"Hmm, refreshing as always." He said and placed his cup down on the small plate. "Now then, to business which my master has sent me on."

"And what sort of proposition does your master have for me?" Maximus inquired. "Something is wrong with him, when I looked into his mind earlier all I found was a mostly blank and empty mind with very little memory." He said to himself.

Maxwell sat there for a moment as though he forgot about why he was there. The next moment he remembered what he needed to do and reached into his inside pocket.

Maximus at first leaned forward a little as to anticipate danger but was relieved when he saw a folded parchment. Maxwell read a little and turned back to them.

"My master, Lord Alexie Barnes Alderp, wishes to hire you for a job and has asked you sign over your castle to him." Maxwell informed him.

"Who is this Alderp guy?" Aqua inquired tugging on his sleeve once more.

"He is a high-ranking Nobleman from the capital, some say he is second only to the King of the country. I remember overhearing a couple of adventurers talking about him once. One of them had her sister taken away to be Lord Alderp's wife and after having his way with her, he threw her away like yesterday's trash. He is basically a rapist, a wild dog that needs to be put down. I am surprised you would even admit to working with him." Maximus informed her.

Aqua leaned a little closer to him shivering at the thought of being violated by this Lord Alderp. Maximus sat back on the sofa and wrapped his arm around her.

"So, your master wishes to hire me and then turns around to say he wants my castle. Why would he even want that?" Maximus inquired feeling a little annoyed with his eyes closed.

"It is because my master has been named to be the Governor of Axel and would only accept a place worthy of his position. He is willing to offer you ten million Eris for the property." Maxwell responded.

Aqua was a little surprised at the amount and looked up at Maximus. "Please tell me he is not going to accept that. I worked hard for this place darn it!" She said to herself.

"While ten million is a decent amount, however, it is nowhere near enough to sell this to him. After restoring it and redoing the interior, it is at least worth ten times that much. On top of that,"

"Oh wait, I meant to say one-hundred million Eris." Maxwell said pushing up his glasses.

Aqua was shocked as her mind went to thinking about living a life of luxury again.

"Even if I were to take you up on such an offer, I am afraid I must decline." Maximus said.

"Wait, what are you saying, you should think this through before turning down such an offer!" Aqua snapped at him.

Maximus turned to her. "Think about it longer than ten seconds will you." He said feeling annoyed with her in that moment and she sat there with a dumbfounded look. "We lost our room at the Inn because we did not have the money to keep it. If we were to take the money all we will wind up doing is living in the cold uncomfortable stables. Do you really want to suffer from the winter nights when it arrives?" He shot back.

The next moment Aqua was beginning to remember the cold sting of the fall nights and remembered telling him how cold winter usually is.

"You are right about that well it looks as though your master is out of luck. But what does he want with Maximus, what job would call for him to ask for his aid?" She inquired.

"I am glad you asked, it is quite simple really, all he wants is for you to go and defeat the Demon King as my master's chosen champion. No wait, that is not right, he has already chosen another champion within the capital. Let me see my notes one more time." Maxwell said looking over the parchment. "Ah yes, I had it all wrong with that part. My master wishes you to surrender the rights to your castle in order to pay a debt to him as he will soon be arriving to Axel as the Governor."

"What debt are you implying may I ask?" Maximus inquired. "I bet it has something to do with the Loaner I dealt with not long after arriving here. The one who had sent those unsavory men to collect a debt Aqua had tallied up." He said to himself.

"My master knows what you did with one of his agents he has spread throughout the country. For some time now, he noticed a part of his income from Axel was missing and after careful investigation, concluded it was you who did the deed. It was confirmed when collaborating with witnesses who said you were the last to see this agent before his supposed death. Also, the aura which was found at the scene of the crime was at first Demonic in nature and was suddenly replaced with Holy Aura during the night. After your battle with Verdia, our investigators discovered the same Holy Aura used at the crime scene." Maxwell informed him.

"I see where this is going, your master wants me to compensate him for his loss. Well, tell him I will not give up my home I have only begun to live in. Nor would I ever allow it to fall into anyone else's hands or possessions. Tell him I do apologize for the inconvenience; however, I was protecting a friend and would have preferred if my encounter with the Loaner finished on a better note at the time. That being said, I wish for you to give him this message. Tell him to fall upon his own sword and do the town of Axel a favor by never returning it to an expensive tax rate again." Maximus informed him.

He stood up from the sofa with Aqua quickly moving with him.

"I see, you will not comply to his demands, very well, I will inform him right away." Maxwell said and finished his tea. He stood up and walked out the castle. After crossing the threshold of the front door, he turned around once more. "I am sorry for troubling you this day." He bowed a little and proceeded to return to his master's side.

After the door closed Maximus had an unsettling feeling. "I feel as though we may have made an enemy of a Nobleman. While the idea of that sounds enticing, I cannot help but think something unsavory will become of this." He said out loud looking down at the floor.

Aqua walked up to him and looked into his eyes with a smile to cheer him up. "Don't worry, I am sure some lowly human such as he would pose no threat to the likes of you. I mean come on you defeated a powerful Lich within the Demon King's Army. What could he possibly do to you to make you worry at all?"

"You do have a valid point," He paused for a moment wondering if some unseen circumstance were to arise. "However, we should take as much precaution as possible. There is more than one way someone of his influence can do to strike at someone who is their superior in terms of abilities." He paused once more. "On another note, we should see about going into town for food supplies and breakfast with what little money we have."

She nodded her head and he picked her up, exited out the doors, and flew off towards Axel.

"By the way, did you really,"

"End the life of a lowly scoundrel, who turned out to be someone working for another lowly cur?" He said, interrupting her and halted the flight to look at her. She had a concerned look with a little fear growing. "Yes, I did so in order to look after you. As I said before I would watch over you when we began this journey. What I did not say was how or what methods I would use to ensure that. Also, I was ignorantly testing my abilities, although I still do not feel much different from when I was on my world, but there are other abilities besides strength I was curious about. I am sorry if this puts a damp on your image of me." He finished explaining.

She leaned up to look him in the eyes and noticed the somber sight within them.

"I do not mind if it were to protect me, you will not have to worry about my thoughts about you on this matter. Besides, after piecing things together, such as, the prices of everything went down quite a bit after the Loaner died. Sometimes you have to do a little evil in order for good to prevail. So, don't worry too much about it." She said flicking his forehead and winked at him.

"Thanks for that, I am not sure how I would have continued if not for your support on this matter." He said feeling relief.

They continued to fly towards Axel and a few minutes later they arrived at the gates and noticed the guards were present on the outside. He noted they had a nervous look on their faces as he approached them.

"That's odd, they usually are sleeping on the job or not even around when entering the gates." He whispered.

Aqua heard him and wondered about it as well. The moment they were at the gates the guards positioned their lances to block entry for them.

"Halt, you are not permitted to enter here." One of them ordered.

"Fellas, it's me, Maximus, the one who,"

"Shut your mouth monster! You have some nerve to show up here after the stunt you pulled!" The guard shouted with fear in his eyes and anger in his voice before Maximus could go on.

"Hey, what's going on, why are you so angry with him as though he did something wrong?" Aqua inquired with a bewildered expression. "Aside from ending the life of the Loaner what else could they be mad at him for?" She wondered to herself.

"Are you seriously asking that?"

"Wait, she's the witch who is in league with him." The second guard interrupted the first.

Aqua was infuriated with what the guard said and jumped down from Maximus' arms.

"You have some nerve calling me a witch. I shall have you know I am a Goddess darn it! My name is Aqua, the Goddess of Water! Can you not tell by my fabulous sky-blue hair and my sapphire blue eyes? I am worshipped by the noble Axis Sect!" She informed them.

Both of the guards snorted at her and began to laugh. Aqua stood there devastated they did not believe her.

"There you two are, I knew you would try to return to this town!" Kazuma's voice echoed from past the gates.

They noticed his clothing had changed from his normal track suit and wore something that would fit an average person would wear around town. His green and golden mantle danced with the wind and underneath was a white shirt with grey sleeves. His pants were charcoal grey and had leather boots.

"Hey, it's Kazuma, looks like you got yourself the right kind of clothing after all this time. I will say your track suit was most certainly not going with the vibe of this Fantasy World, but you are looking great." Aqua complimented him.

"That look definitely suits you, now where have you been all this time the day after I awoke from the fight." Maximus said to him.

"Enough of this, I do not know what you two are talking about, quit acting like you two have known me far longer than it appears!" Kazuma shouted with annoyance.

"It's a good thing Kazuma, the Lich Slayer is here, he will take care of this man and his hag." One of the guards said backing away from Maximus and the other mirrored his movements.

"What's going on here, they are acting as though we are enemies and had done something unforgivable?" Maximus wondered to himself.

Aqua stood next to Maximus, hugging his arm. "What has gotten into him, it's like he doesn't recognize us as his party members. And why do they have to be so mean and call me a witch!" She complained with tears forming.

"I have been waiting for this chance to avenge the town which was ravaged by you two just the other day. I cannot believe you two would do such a heinous crime against those innocent people. What did they ever do to you to earn that fate? Why did the Demon King need them to die?!" Kazuma demanded an answer from him.

"Something is certainly wrong with him and those guards and by that extent, possibly a number of the townsfolk as well. For him to believe we are under the employ of the Demon King is laughable and so outrageous." Maximus said to her sensing foul play within Kazuma's mind. "Kazuma, are you sure we cannot talk this out? Something is obviously at play here; can you not sense it?" Maximus asked.

"The only thing I sense here is your foul tongue trying to persuade me to believe whatever lies you wish to use on me. To think you would actually use words for once to get your way instead of the usual show of force. That being said, if you turn yourself in, I may persuade those within the Law to give you a fair trial and offer a quick death for the witch at your side." He said pointed at them.

"Interesting, what if I were to refuse the idea of turning myself in quietly?" Maximus curiously asked.

"I would have no choice but to deal out judgement upon you here and now. If I were to defeat you in battle, I can easily claim the reward the Kingdom of Belzerg has placed upon you two." Kazuma said out loud feeling a little excited. "After defeating the Lich over a week ago, I am feeling confident in my abilities." He said to himself.

"Ha, I would like to see you come and try,"

The moment before Maximus could finish his sentence, Kazuma instantly disappeared from sight. Where he stood a small indention formed on the ground with a webbing of cracks stretching out.

Maximus was caught off guard and quickly mounted a defense. Kazuma thrusted his sword forward and Maximus countered with a sword he instantly made with his magic. He swung his sword upward to divert the blow away and quickly spun around to his right and kick Kazuma in the stomach. His right heel dug in and forced him back over ten yards.

"That was a good exchange, I'd expect nothing less from you Maximus." Kazuma said and quickly caught his breath.

"Something has happened to him, it seems as though his speed, strength, and durability have gone up considerably. What could the cause of this be I wonder. It's too much of a coincidence this encounter began shortly after declining to give up mine and Aqua's home." He thought to himself as he took a step back to stand at Aqua's side. "I hate to ask this of you, but circumstances are calling for it. Can you hold your own against any enemy and or those guards while I deal with Kazuma?" He asked.

"Well," She paused for a moment not feeling confident.

"If you do not feel confident enough, there is no shame in that. I just need to know before fully engaging in a fight with anyone." Maximus quickly replied. "There are too many unknown variables to consider in our situation. One unknown would be how far this influence has spread throughout the town. It is likely many are not going to welcome us so easily, leaving us with no option to enter the city. I need to figure out what is happening and how it was enacted so quickly." Maximus said to himself.

Kazuma dashed toward him once more.

"I may have to take a gamble and go into the town anyway." He finished his thought and turned to Aqua. "Take hold of my hand, now!" He ordered and she grabbed hold without hesitation.

The moment Kazuma was to strike him, his sword went through an afterimage and he barely caught himself from falling to the ground. "Where are you coward? Show yourself and face judgment for your crimes!" He shouted out and turned to look at the guards. "What are you waiting for, search the town for them, now!" He commanded and the guards quickly ran into the town to search for the two. "They cannot have gone far." He said to himself.


	22. Chapter 22

**Leaving the Town:**

Maximus and Aqua were calmly walking in between alley's with white and blue robes he created once within the city. Their cover gave the impression they were from an unknown religious order. Their hoods were over their heads and a cloth was covering their faces in order from being recognized. They turned a corner and saw a wanted poster on the wall of a building. Maximus took it down and began to read it.

"It seems someone has manipulated information about us after all. This is calling for us to be arrested and the reward is a generous amount for anyone needing it." He said to himself.

She glanced down and noticed the reward amount for him. "Whoa, they are rewarding anyone Thirty Million Eris for your capture!" She said with amazement and took hold of it. "How much are they asking for me, I'll bet it is a significantly higher due to me being a Goddess and all." She looked down and saw the amount for her was only Thirty Thousand Eris. "What? Why are they asking a significant amount for you and no where near enough for me? I'm a Goddess, I should be worth more than you!" She felt jealous and began to cry.

Maximus placed his hand over her mouth after noticing a few people down the street looking at them with a curious gaze. They shouted for the attention of the Towns Guard to investigate. Before they could finish shouting, Maximus and Aqua were already out of the area. He had teleported them to a nearby alleyway in a familiar part of town.

"Are you trying to get us captured?" He snapped at her.

"I'm sorry, it's just your bounty is more than mine." She said feeling sad for upsetting him.

"If you have a lower bounty, then that means they will be looking for me more than you, it has nothing to do with popularity. Be thankful they are either extremely accurate in the danger you pose to them or they are underestimating you. He said and stopped when a group of the Towns Guard were marching past.

He held her close with his left arm around her and his right hand ready to cast a spell. The guards continued to move along not noticing them as they passed by.

"We need to remain silent until we can find a place to hide and I believe this place will provide it." He said and moved out with her close to him.

They reached the street where Wiz' shop rested and Aqua recognized the area.

"Wait, this is where Wiz' shop is, what are we going here for?" She whispered.

"I know it is a gamble to come here, but I was curious to see how far this influence has spread. So far, it only appears to be on several people and everyone else seems to be going with the flow or just ignoring it." He quickly answered as they kept on moving toward the shop.

The two arrived at the door and he quickly motioned her to wait as he began to use his magic. She saw the wonderous way he was employing his magic and watched with great interest. The next moment he nodded down to her and the two entered. Maximus kept himself ready in case the worst should result. The bell rang to indicate to Wiz she had customers.

"Oh, welcome to my shop." Wiz called out from the back.

Maximus and Aqua removed their robes and face shield and Wiz saw them as she appeared from the back.

"Maximus, it's been a little while since we last saw each other. How have you been and why were you wearing those robes?" She asked with a sweet smile.

"She does not appear to be under any influence at all from what I can tell. I think she is alright, don't you Maximus?" Aqua said taking a step towards her.

"Oh, Lady Aqua, sorry I did not take the time to notice you are here too." Wiz said in a welcoming manner.

Maximus noticed something was off yet he could not put his finger on it. The aura within was faint but it had the same feel as Maxwell had. "Wiz, I need to ask you,"

"About what is going on through the town? Yes, I noticed some people were saying you two have done something horrible to a town north of here." Wiz said before Maximus could finish.

"Yeah, they were so mean they called me a witch." Aqua began to cry a little and latched onto Maximus. "Why would they do such a thing to me, a Goddess?"

Maximus wrapped his left arm around her to give her some comfort and looked down for a moment before turning back at Wiz.

"Have you noticed anything weird going on in town recently? Any shady individuals that might set off warning signs to you?" He inquired readying himself for anything.

"Now that you mention it, I do remember seeing a man earlier today which was giving off a disturbing feeling when I was walking through town earlier." Wiz said after thinking for a moment.

"Did he happen to look like him." He inquired showing the same image of Maxwell in the palm of his right hand.

"Yes, he is the one I saw and sensed the strange presence." Wiz informed him.

"What do you think it could mean?" Aqua inquired sniffing her nose and wiping her tears.

"I do not know, but this is looking bad for the two of us right now. We will probably have to deal with him and his master soon if we are to salvage this whole ordeal. Both seem suspicious enough to warrant further investigation." Maximus replied and thought further on the situation.

"Well, I could help you out. This fellow said he was going to drop by my shop later on for something. Perhaps we could get some information out of him if we were to capture him." Wiz said to offer them assistance.

"That could be worth looking into, also, we will need to find a place to stay until everything gets situated and all the wrongs righted." He said.

"Why not go back to the castle?" Aqua inquired.

"Sorry, that's not a good idea, they will be expecting that and most likely have something set up for us when we arrive." He replied.

"But, it's our home, we cannot give it up so easily, especially after all the hard work I put into it." Aqua complained.

"I know and believe me I hate the idea of abandoning it, but I have a strong inclining they are waiting for us there already. When that guy from earlier was there, I believe his only objective was to meet with us and set a trap for when we arrive back." He explained.

"But you said any magic which is employed outside your own would be cancelled out." She said to remind him.

"True, however, you do not necessarily have to set it up inside, you could set it up outside the bounded field." He said and wondered for a moment.

"Which means we will be walking into a trap the moment we get home?" She asked.

Maximus nodded his head and she began to feel depressed for the situation.

"I do have a way to see if there really is a trap or not, but first we need to settle this debacle in order to clear our names." He said and she nodded her head painfully hoping they did not have to go through with this.

"Great, so we are all in agreement? If that is the case, I believe we can capture Lord Alderp and Maxwell with ease. Then everything will go back to normal." Wiz said as she walked towards the door.

Aqua was about to join her when Maximus took hold of her arm and she turned around.

"Wiz," He paused for a moment remembering he had not said any names to her. "How do you know their names?" He inquired as his senses were starting to go into an alarming state.

He soon sensed Wiz was beginning to employ magic a little more as he readied himself.

"I cannot believe I let it slip so soon, I only needed a few more moments before trapping them." She said to herself. "Well, you see, I," The next moment she turned around instantly raising her hands. "Cursed Ice Prison!" She shouted and a wall of ice extended forth entrapping the two of them within.

Wiz walked up to them with a somber look on her face and anger in her eyes.

"Of all the things many can do to people, the worst is when those who trample on others who cannot defend themselves are counted within the ranks of the most vile and unforgivable. Those villagers bore no threat to you, why did you kill them all?" She asked as her glare towards them intensified.

The next moment the door opened and when she turned around, she saw a hand placed over her face. She instantly felt a small amount of Anti-Magic flow through her that had a sharp feeling run deep into her body. Her eye that was uncovered saw Maximus before her and she was not sure how he had broken free from her spell.

She quickly noticed his grasp was loosened and took hold of his arm. With lighting fast speeds, she spun around and launched her left leg upon the back of his head, forcing him to the ground. Pulling his arm back she began to feel dizzy as Maximus caught himself with his left-hand slamming against the floor. Momentarily she fell to the floor unconscious and Maximus stood up to look down upon her.

"To think they got to someone as powerful as her and if she is anything like Leech was along with her prestige of being counted among the highest ranks of the Demon King's army. I would have hated the idea of battling against her within the city." Maximus said removing the same blue and white robes.

"It is a good thing you listened to your instincts to employ such a tactic. Who knew she would fall for it?" Aqua said as she walked up to their doppelgangers. "You are quite talented when it comes to creating the, what was it you called them, oh yeah, Magical Dolls to set a trap. Not to mention you got every detail about me down to the T. I, the Goddess Aqua, give you my stamp of approval." She said with a thumbs up and a smirk.

Maximus smiled back. "Well, I have been close to you for some time now, especially after last night's hurrah. Besides, if they were not exact, she would not have fallen for such a trap."

"So, what are we going to do with her?" Aqua inquired, walking up to him.

"Well, we can either take her with us since it might be a possibility her identity may be compromised or we could wake her up and have her stay here as a way to keep an eye on things while we make a run for it." He suggested and thought a little more.

"Or you could just get it over with and find this Lord Alderp guy and force him to change things back." Aqua suggested with a smile, closing her eyes and folded her arms while she nodded her head.

"That is the end goal, however he is not here yet. None of my familiars have seen him yet and I have them all placed around the town and the gates. No man that fits his description from what few people know about him. Then again, Maxwell did say he was on his way from the Capital." He paused to think for another moment.

"But that is almost a month away, how did Maxwell get here so fast? If that trip is a month's journey from here could he have lied to us?" Aqua asked.

"It is possible to consider that Lord Alderp is hiding himself for now. Maxwell also could have had someone teleport him to here or do that himself and that is if he knows how to. Still, something is at play here and I do not like it." Maximus replied and soon began to think a little more.

The next moment Wiz began to wake up and Aqua was unsure what to do and stood behind Maximus. She looked around and noticed she was on the floor feeling a little hazy. She turned to see the two before her.

"Maximus, Aqua, when did the two of you get here and why am I on the floor?" Wiz wondered.

She was about to stand up when Maximus held his hand out to aid her.

"Not long ago." He replied.

She soon realized the ice wall within her shop and began to panic.

"Oh no, when the ice melts inside, it is going to ruin the entire store. How am I going to get rid of this without damaging some of the products in here?" Wiz said out loud feeling worried.

"I can easily,"

"I can help, I feel like I haven't done too much lately with you always stepping in. So, you should just leave this to me." Aqua said with a cheerful smile before Maximus could go on. Her fist was imbued with fire and she began to employ a spell. "Force Fire!"

Wiz began to panic. "No, Lady Aqua, please do not,"

Before Wiz could alert her, Aqua fired the spell upon the ice wall and the sparks dashed off. They spread throughout the store and the next moment the entire shop erupted. The loud sonic boom echoed throughout the town, vibrating the buildings violently. Many sets of furniture rumbled so much they fell over and many dishes had fallen on the ground, shattering into dozens of pieces.

Kazuma saw the mushroom cloud rising on the other side of town. "I would stake my reputation on the idea they are over there." He said running towards the cloud.

Meanwhile, the three of them were floating in the air, both Aqua and Wiz were tucked in each of Maximus' arms. The two ladies were coughing from the smoke and Maximus was feeling a little annoyed the three of them almost died. He also wondered why her shop exploded and began to come up with ideas for such a thing.

Wiz cried out seeing her shop nothing more than rubble. "Lady Aqua, I really wish you would not have done such a rash thing. The reason is because one of the items I have in my shop reacts to fire in a negative way. That item's explosion mixed with a couple of other powerful potions made this even worse."

"Do try to think a few steps ahead before doing anything from now on." Maximus sighed a little as he looked down upon her with no emotion.

"But I was only trying to help." She said on the verge of crying.

"I know you were, but next time, know your surroundings and the important circumstances we are in." He said with a smile to comfort her and looked at the shop's debris. "I cannot believe we almost died because of her, not to mention everyone in town is going to come looking around here to see what has transpired. Also, she might as well have posted a sign that says 'Hey, we are here, come get us'. Man, she really needs a lot of oversight and I almost forgot how much exactly until I was reminded again at this moment." He said to himself as his annoyance he was hiding began to build up. "In fact, it is better you do not attempt anything like that again without first inquiring me, is that understood." He said looking back down at her.

"Okay." She said hiding her face from him.

Moments later, the three of them were within another part of the city in new disguises he had made. He and Aqua were wearing black robes with red linings which made them look more like cultist of some demon or monster worshipers.

"So, what are you two going to do now?" Wiz inquired, worrying about their safety.

"We are going to leave the city for now. Once Lord Alderp is found by my familiars, we will be back and see about why the sudden move against us. Afterward, work on removing whatever influence is upon some of the people." Maximus informed her.

"Will you be okay, are you sure about not coming along?" Aqua inquired.

"I believe it best I should stay her for now and see about aiding you from this side of the game. Besides, you two are closer and would hate to be a wedge during your time together. Also, do not worry about me, I am not so easily tricked a second time." Wiz said with a smile.

"In that case," Maximus paused to hand her a crystal cube. "Take this, it will keep you in touch with us. When you happen to see Maxwell or, more importantly Lord Alderp, call out my name and it will act as a communication method. Shortly after that, we will return as I will use my magic to teleport us back to your shop, which is being reconstructed quickly by my familiars. I swear I will repay the damages you have suffered and hope this helps as a down payment towards that at least." Maximus said feeling sorry about the unfortunate situation.

"It is alright and I will hold you to that." Wiz said. "Farewell on your journey." She finished and waved goodbye.

Both Maximus and Aqua waved back as they approached the caravan. They sat down and noticed they were fortunately alone. They both removed their hoods and began their journey southeast to a town most noted as a resort. Aqua went ahead on removing the robe completely and leaned against Maximus, resting her head on his chest as he wrapped his arm around her.

"Do you think the others are going to be alright?" She inquired worrying about them.

"Darkness and Megumin have been informed of the situation. I had sent a familiar carrying a message to inform them about what has transpired. I hope they agree to stay away from town until everything settles down. I would hate for them to get wrapped up just as quickly as Kazuma did. I will say that little spell I placed upon him was not strong enough to break whatever curse or spell that was influencing his judgement." He replied and thought a little further. "It is so odd that things are happening so fast. What could this Lord Alderp hope to gain as a result from all of this. He has no reason to fear me as I have not made myself that much a threat to any noble. This is truly a troubling situation with so many variables left open to figure out." He finished his thought.

"I know this may sound odd to say, but in some way, it is great we are going on a type of vacation. I just wish it were under better circumstances." Aqua said drawing circles on his chest.

"Yeah, so do I, but let us try to enjoy it as much as possible." He said and she looked up at him and nodded in agreement with a smile.

"By the way, how did you secure our passage to our destination?" She inquired.

"I told the Carriage Master I would act as security for the caravan should the need arise. So, he gave us a discount, on top of that I also gave him what little money I had to spare. We should be fine though, not too many bandits populate the roads or are active this time of the year from what I am told." He explained to her.

She looked out the side window and could barely see the tip of the tower where their home was sitting.

"I wish we could stay there, but I know we cannot because of the idea they could have set trap for us." She paused for a moment as she began to whine. "This is so not fair; I finally get to have you for one comfortable night and day and now it is all taken from me." She stopped momentarily, sitting up clenching her hands in anger. "If I could, I would teach those jerks a lesson from this fabulous Goddess!" She raised her voice.

Maximus chuckled a little and thought how that would go for her. The next moment she planted her face upon his chest and began to cry a little and looked up at him.

"Please tell me we will live in that place again." She said with tears in her eyes.

"We will, I promise you that. It just might be a few days until then." He said and placed his forehead on hers. "Oh, Goddess Aqua, may you bless our journey with fantastic delight and fortune. Amen." He prayed to her and she had a smile on her face.

"I am glad you still pray to me even if you do not have to anymore." She thanked him.

"You never did set a limit on how long I should anyway. Besides, I knew it would pick you right back up. Also, even if no one will believe you are The Goddess, I will always believe in you no matter what happens." He said.

The two opened their eyes and turned out the window seeing the countryside. She sat her back upon his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. The caravan continued to roll on towards their destination as the town was shrinking in the distance.

Meanwhile, Kazuma was walking around the area and noticed nothing was out of the ordinary.

"That is so odd, I could have sworn the explosion erupted here. Yet, there is no visible damage. I wonder if he was able to repair things well before I arrived here. This scares me to no end on what he is capable of." Kazuma shivered with a little fear.

The next moment he felt a sharp pain in his head which forced him to the ground. He began to see old memories of when he and the others were together going on various quests. The images ran through his mind and he began to remember everything.

"What am I doing, why am I chasing after Maximus and Aqua? Something is not right with this whole thing and I wonder what it could be?" He said to himself and soon noticed his clothing was not his usual attire. "Wait, when did I get these clothes, and where is my track suit?!" He shouted and began to run around town, frantically looking for it.

Meanwhile, within one of the buildings of Axel, a middle-age obese man with blonde hair and red and blue clothing with gold lines was watching the latest event with Kazuma and Maximus unfold. He had a dissatisfied look on his face and a little anger in his eyes.

"Well, that did not go as planned. This is only a minor hiccup for they will soon be under my employ. Both of them will be back in town after some time, even if I have to take drastic steps to ensure that." The man said.

"Mi Lord Alderp, they are waiting for your presence at the meeting." A butler knocked on the door and called from the other side.

"Good." He said and looked back at the crystal ball which showed him an image of Kyouya and Maximus when they were at the Guild Hall. "The two of them will be a welcoming addition for my ultimate goals and these two will help me even if I have to torture those who they hold dear." He finished with an evil grin.


	23. Chapter 23

**Vacation at this Resort Town:**

During the third night of the travel to the beach resort town Maximus was sitting by the fire trying to keep himself awake. It was his turn to take the shift of looking out for any troubles and ensuring the horses were accounted for. After making his rounds, he stopped to check on Aqua. He saw she was still sleeping peacefully. He remembered how she had a displeased opinion on him leaving her side during the cold nights thus far, but knew she had to put up with it. Maximus circled back to the fire and waited for the end of his shift to arrive.

Before he could settle down on the seat next to the fire, he heard in the distance the rattling sound of a creature approaching. The horses sensed the danger drawing near and became restless. Their cries echoed in the air around the makeshift camp.

Maximus used his magic to prepare himself for what could be in the brush some distance in front of him. "What is this creature or creatures that approaches us in the dead of night." He wondered to himself.

The next moment he heard the moaning sound that would echo from a human's mouth. He studied what sounds were able to hear further. The heavy and dumb stumbling sounds of footsteps that walked poorly, as though it were from someone who were an undead being. He soon began to hear the growling of such beings draw closer. The next moment several of them fell out of the bush and he could see the humanoid shape they had.

"By Heaven's name, it's a pack of Undead." He said to himself. He snapped his fingers and a dozen fireballs formed overhead.

He pointed his fingers forward and motioned his hand as though he shot a gun at each one of the Undead. The moment his hand moved a single fireball darted towards the closest enemy. The fires quickly consumed them and soon he noticed several dozens more were appearing out of the forest.

"How could there be so many of them in one spot. Did we travel near an ancient battlefield?" He wondered to himself.

He raised his left hand above him and soon a larger ball of blue fire and lightning formed. The blue light illuminated the area and he beheld a greater number of them than before.

"It is as though there is no end to them." He said out loud.

The next moment several of the adventurers who were assigned to guard the caravan saw the commotion after barely waking up from the sounds of the fireballs clashing against the corpses.

"Heaven's Blaze!" Maximus shouted.

Before anyone could say anything, Maximus' attack erupted in the air and expanded out. Within the same moment streams of the twirling fires descended down from the large blue fire disk. The lightning zapped through the Undead bodies, stunning them as the fires consumed their corpses.

After it was over Maximus went to check on Aqua and noticed she was huddled up in the corner of the carriage they rode in. Before he could inquire about her, she started to point behind him with a look of fear behind him. He turned around in time to see an Undead Giant which brushed him away. The force sent him flying across the ways and upon a tree. He coughed a little of his saliva and quickly prepared himself to launch back at his enemy.

"Filthy Undead, you would dare sneak up on a Goddess and hurt her lover. I will teach you not to mess with me and him! Sacred Turn Undead!" She shouted with anger.

The next moment a massive circle was shined upon the entire ground and soon all of the Undead Maximus had not gotten to were instantly vaporized. The souls of the Undead ascended into the sky and everyone cheered for the two of them. She appeared outside and stood next to Maximus.

"Here's a Nature's Beauty to celebrate the quickly victory." She said laughing while taking several poses with her last one pointing at Maximus and immediately a small flowerpot formed on his head with a flower blossoming.

"If our battle with Leech and his Undead Troops has taught me anything it is, her Goddess aura can attract the Undead to her. We are going to have to be careful from here on out until we arrive at our destination. I will also have to employ a barrier around the camp and see about having her bless it to vaporize any Undead that touches it." He said to himself.

Everyone returned to bed and Maximus was relieved from his shift a couple hours later. The next day at noon they arrived at the resort town and the two waved goodbye to those in the caravan. As they were making their way through town, they noticed a lot of the people were wearing their swim attire. The ladies were clad in nothing but bikinis, clothing Maximus had never seen before on his world. The men wore their swimming trunks and several of the people were giving them funny looks and whispered amongst themselves about how they were standing the intense heat in the southern region.

"Well hello there, I'm the Headman of this village, it is a pleasure to welcome you two to our resort town. I take it the two of you were flying south before winter arrived and if that is so, why are you not going to change into something more refreshing? Are the two of you not how in those robes of yours?" He inquired.

"Yes, we were wondering where to get some comfortable clothes before enjoying all your town has to offer." Maximus said.

He quickly studied his mind for a bit and noticed no reward posters had been put up in this town.

"Well, our best swim attire would be this store right over there." The Headman said pointing behind him. "They even have a special discount going on right now. I do hope the two of you enjoy your stay here." He finished as he continued to walk the town.

Maximus and Aqua were feeling the heat beat on them even more under the robes. The next moment he placed his hand on her shoulder and nodded. She nodded back and their robes instantly disappeared.

"I do not know how you can stand it under those, if I were made of ice, I would have been a puddle of water already." She exhaled and began to feel relieved.

"There is no sense of them knowing we are wanted for crimes the posters back in Axel had written upon them. I believe we can stay here with no troubles at all." He said and they entered the shop.

Aqua's eyes lit up seeing the many different swim attire to choose from. She began to gleefully dance around the shop as though she were a kid in a candy shop not sure where to begin.

"I wonder if Maximus will like this one?" She whispered to herself trying a specific piece and began to cycle through some of them.

After choosing one she liked the most, she met with Maximus to pay for their new clothing. He soon realized he had only a little money and quickly made some in order to pay.

"I know it is not something I should do, but this is a delicate situation." He said to himself.

He reached into his pocket once more to use his magic to create some Eris Coins to hand to the owner. They made their way to the nearby Inn and luckily a room was available for them. When they walked through the door, they noticed it was a honeymoon suite and not a regular room. The two turned to each other and laughed a bit. She dashed for the bathroom to change with a large smile.

After a little bit she opened the door and revealed her new outfit. Aqua's skirtini had a small mini skirt which barely covered the bottom of her cheeks and white bow ribbons on the side. Her top was a string top, small in size, barely covering half her breast with a large white bow ribbon at the center which connected the front together. The strings wrapped around her shoulders and back.

"Maximus," She called out to him after stepping out of the bathroom of their suite. "Do you like the new outfit I acquired."

Despite seeing her all before, he could not help but admire the new look as he was only used to seeing her in the usual outfit and pajamas. His jaw had dropped a little from her beauty as the skirtini seemed to help accent her figure a lot more.

"I knew he would like this; the silence is everything, especially with that look in his eyes." She said to herself with a smile forming.

Maximus took his turn to change after staring at her for several moments. When he exited into the bedroom, she saw his strong muscular physique once more. She took several moments to admire the chiseled look upon each muscle.

"His body is perfection, every muscle of his is well developed. Gentle when relaxed for someone to lay their head upon, like a pillow, and hard as stone during intense moments to defeat his foes. Even if he is mostly human, a Nephilim's essence and form are ever present with him. Their genes are more than likely not to miss a generation at all." She stopped for a moment to look down at herself and placed her hand on her belly. "I want to bear his child someday as to further both of our lines. I know there is a risk of reviving that terrible race once more, the Scourge of the Cosmos. Do I even want to be responsible for that? Do I want to be remembered as the Mother of the New Nephilim who spread throughout the Cosmos once more to claim it for themselves? A child from me and him would be a Nephilim Deity, that baby would potentially be the strongest being in existence." She stopped her thought and looked away for a moment.

"Aqua, what is the matter?" He inquired seeing her face move from an admiring smile to a horror filled expression. He sat next to her and wrapped his left arm around her.

"It's nothing, just a silly thought, no need to worry." She cheerfully smiled instantly and looked outside at the sun ridden sky. "Hey, why don't we go walk about and see what this place has to offer. We are on a sort of vacation after all, even if it took an evil man to scare us off." She giggled nervously and grabbed his hand with hers. "Come on, let's go!"

He chuckled a little and began to follow her lead. At the same time, he could not help but wonder what she was thinking about that made her go from being happy to be feeling scared or terrified about something.

They began to explore the resort town, from eating at several seafood bars to window shopping. She noticed other swimwear she wanted to get but was not able to because money was tight. She begged him to use his creation magic to create Eris Gold Coins. He decided to give in since they were enjoying themselves and took a couple of them when no one was looking, placed his hand on the ground to summon the elements needed.

They continued on their day exploring and laying upon the beach and found a perfect spot where some of the rock formation formed a natural pool. She looked at him with delight and before she could say anything, he used his magic to smooth out the edge around the top and side of the rocks to make it easier to rest against. A ring formed around it as well with steps encircling within to the center. He also formed a pathway on the rocks to the sands to make the walk to it easier than suffering from the sharp edges. He also warmed up the water to make a hot pool where the two relaxed.

"It's amazing the type of magic you learned on your homeworld." She said relaxing on his shoulder. "I could stay here all day in this little pool of ours. Here all day every day for the rest of time. This would be perfect, no?" She looked up at him with an excited smile on her face.

Maximus looked around and had a thought brew in his mind about what she said.

"You know, I could as well. In fact, I am almost half tempted to stay here. I can go with the idea of retiring out here. Of course, I will need to move the castle once I find a good enough spot to set it down on. What do you think?" He looked down, inquiring.

"But should we not go after the Demon King and Lord Alderp first?" She asked feeling a little concerned about the two would be enemies.

"I feel as though the Demon King is nothing more than a pacifist individual. The entire time I have been here he has not even once sent a foe to fight me specifically. Verdia's reasons for showing up may have been because of me, however, he did not seek me out when he supposedly arrived. If he was sent after me, why not challenge me from the start. He only sought after my life because I was protecting a comrade and as the leader, it was my duty to take some responsibility. But after the fight with Leech, he never once returned to avenge their deaths. He had more reasons than Lord Alderp to seek after me, yet never done so. Why do you think that is?" He paused for a moment as Aqua began to think for a moment turning away.

"You do have a point, but why did Lord Alderp make a move against you now?" She inquired, looking back at him.

"There lies a mystery which beckons to be solved. I could say the obvious reason, or one of them, is he wants to be in a position of higher power. In fact, in more ways than not, that is usually the main reason." He said thinking about several motives.

"But why go after an adventurer, it's not like they would be a real threat to him." She said feeling a little annoyed by the idea.

"You would actually be surprised for why men like him in power would have reason to fear an adventurer or hero types. That is because they would be the most likely to overthrow him or force him into submission. By the way, our meeting with Maxwell went I would say it is on the lines of wanting to get back at me for putting a dent into his income. That is to say he was getting a handsome sum of money from Axel, which was why the cost of everything was so high." He explained.

"You said we would head back when he makes an appearance, what if he never does show up within Axel?" She asked, anticipating the most likely outcome.

"Well, we can either do two things. One, we return to Axel after a few days and settle everything down ourselves. Or we,"

"We stay here and just live out our lives, settle down, and raise a family!" She said with a cheerful smile and sparkles in her eyes.

"Well, that is one way to put it." He said feeling a little nervous as he scratched the back of his head and chuckled.

She laughed along with him and they looked back into each other's eyes once more. She leaned up to kiss him again and both embraced each other. A few moments passed and Maximus noticed the water had lost the salty feel and she noticed he was looking down.

"Uh, Aqua, how come the sea water looks so pure?" He inquired feeling confused.

"Oh, right, I can purify anything that is water based with my aura. Did I do something wrong with the pool you made?" She responded feeling as though he would be disappointed with her.

"No, I just find it odd and if that be the case, how come you were able to get drunk off of wine and ale? Both are water based, so how were you hammered after downing either drink?" He inquired to know about her a little more.

"I can basically control when it happens, at least to the point where I end up losing control over myself, then it goes off by my mood I guess." She replied.

"Interesting either way, well, no need to dwell on that too much as I was only curious. Why don't we get something to eat, I believe we can leave this pool long enough for that, no?" He inquired.

She nodded her head and they went into town.

Nearly a week passed and the two were at one of the restaurants, the two were sitting at a small table sitting across each other. The evening sky was beginning to show its purplish-blue color over its entirety. She was enjoying another story about one of his adventures from when he started his original journey. Her laughter filled the air as she found it hard to contain herself.

"This is too much; I cannot believe that guy was going to try to fight you right after you employed a magical trick. What a stupid idiot!" She laughed so hard her abs were aching in pain as she tried to hug them to provide some relief.

"You should have seen the look on his face when he picked himself up from the ground. He had this dumbfounded look as though there was someone else who was a bigger fish in the sea metaphorically speaking. He was so dazed and confused, he was not sure where he was at that moment." He said and began to laugh along with her.

After a few moments of recollecting themselves he happened to look up and noticed someone he did not want to run into.

"Oh no, don't look now, but it appears Kyouya is here as well." Maximus said feeling annoyed they were in the same place once again. His mood was becoming sour and she noticed right away. His mind was reviewing what had transpired the last time they had crossed paths.

"Wait, he is here?" She said turning around and saw Kyouya without his armor. She had barely recognized him and quickly turned around.

Kyouya saw the two and Maximus had a displeased look.

"I told you not to turn around." He said feeling annoyed.

"I am sorry, I did not mean to." She said squinting her eyes shut hoping Kyouya did not notice her.

"There you are!" Kyouya's voice shouted with anger and disdain as he noticed the two across the ways.

The two of them flinched sensing the intense feelings within the sound of his voice.

"I have been looking to challenge you to a duel Maximus! In fact, I swore I would if by some chance I see you again!" He said as he began to stroll across the open restaurant towards them. His feet stomping against the floor loudly.

"Oh great, now look what you have done. Now I have to deal with him and that is sure to cause a commotion." Maximus said feeling his annoyance grow as the situation was turning in a sour direction.

"I cannot forgive you for how you are treating Lady Aqua!" Kyouya shouted clenching his fists.

"I Still cannot believe this mongrel thinks I am mistreating her; this is so annoying. But it looks as though a fight is going to happen no matter what. Kyouya's reason to fight is obvious and dumb, but it appears he is not under the same influence as Kazuma or Wiz was. If I can recruit him to aid me against Alderp, it would make things a lot easier. But my mood for that has changed over the last week with no sign of Alderp showing himself. Why did Kyouya had to show up of all places?" Maximus said to himself and prepared for the inevitable bout with Kyouya.

He stood up from his chair and sighed a little before squaring up with Kyouya. The two were standing still for a few moments, waiting for who will make the first move. Everyone around could sense the intense staring between the two, along with the seriousness of their demeaners. Several people were beginning to move away unsure of what would transpire. Aqua was not able to move she could sense the tension between the two. Both of their annoyances towards one another could rival the hatred between enemies. The moment before their fight could begin, the Headman of the resort stepped in between the two.

"Hold on fellas, if you are going to have a fight, I am requesting you leave the town's boundaries. If you had not noticed, you are disturbing the peace." The Headman said.

The two kept their gaze upon each other with fierce intent. Aqua stepped to Maximus' side and took hold of his hand to get his attention. He looked down and noticed her scared expression. He sighed a bit and turned back to Kyouya.

"Since it seems you do not intend on giving up your silly attempt to 'Win Aqua's Affection' nonsense, might I suggest we engage in a different type of duel." Maximus said coming up with a thought and pointed out to an island in the distance. "How's about we swim to that island and back tomorrow. A test of endurance if you will, for that island is a good enough distance for the two of us to challenge ourselves. Whoever makes it back from shoreline to shoreline wins. However, this will not result in any way the right to have Aqua in either party as she has already made her decision on who she wishes to be with. So, let us wager something else instead. If I win, you will no longer ask me to duel for her. If by some chance you win, I will allow you to duel me again but only for dueling purposes only. You are to reframe from requesting to duel for Aqua, is that clear?" Maximus finished.

"But that is not fair, how is that in any way a win for me when in fact it is a lose-lose situation? I don't get to win anything at all!" Kyouya protested the conditions.

"As I said before, she is with me and has no interest in being with you. Besides, I cannot help but notice you have two companions right behind you. Or are they not good enough for your affection or are they just hopeless idiots following you around like a couple of desperate fools or lost puppies who are only following you around because you are some big shot with a sword. Surely there is more to you than that?" Maximus said pointing at the two young women behind Kyouya.

"No, I wish to duel for Aqua and nothing else!" He snapped back without Maximus' words about his companions registering in his mind.

"I guess that answers that, they are nothing to you?" Maximus inquired and noticed he was still not answering. "Very well then, I accept your challenge, and look forward to your defeat." He said.

Maximus turned around and left some money on the table the two were sitting at. He nodded for her to come along and acknowledge it. She had become angry that Kyouya had ruined their night out on the town.

"Mi lady, can I,"

"God Blow!" She shouted with anger raging into her fist and Kyouya fell to the ground unconscious. "That is what you get for interfering with me and my one and only again. We had a fun filled time until you showed up with your stupid attitude. Thanks for spoiling the mood for the rest of the night!" She shouted.

She stormed off with Maximus as they headed for their room at the Inn. Once there they both laid on the bed wrapped in each other's arms. The two of them trying to find their way back to their joyful mood the evening was pointing to.

"I cannot believe the nerve of that guy, walking up to me as if I would actually care about his efforts. He makes me shiver with the way he stares at me, what a jerk!" She pouted looking off to the side at the night's sky. "You better not lose tomorrow." She ordered him.

"Do you think I am just going to hand you over even if I were to somehow lose a race against him. I would rather die a thousand of the most painful deaths imaginable than to turn you over to someone like him, or anyone for that matter. But I promise you, here and now, I will not lose to him. Besides, he doesn't have the advantage I have on him anyway." He said calmly.

"You have me on your side who genially loves you." She quickly said.

He placed his right hand on her cheek and stared into her eyes.

"You got that right and no one is taking you away from me without my say so." He paused for a moment and chuckled. "I wonder if this is some accident or design that lead our paths to meet, you and I that is. Either way, talk about literally living the Star-Crossed Lovers story." He finished his thought.

"Fate or not, I am glad we did meet." She said resting her head on his chest. "You better get some rest for the swimming race." She said and quickly gave him a short kiss goodnight.

"You need not worry about that for you will stay by my side no matter what or who interferes with that." He said to himself wrapping his arm around her and kissed her forehead for a few seconds before turning in for the night.


	24. Chapter 24

**Race Between Rivals:**

The next morning Maximus was still in bed with Aqua sleeping peacefully on his chest. He had woken up a little early and looked out the window to notice dawn was upon the horizon. He felt a little annoyed with himself and decided to return to sleep.

Several hours later the two awoke and both met each other's gaze with a smile.

"I really wish we never ran into that jerk who has now spoiled a good morning such as this." Aqua said feeling the sour sense of what was to come.

"I think in some ways it was bound to happen eventually." He paused for a moment brushing her long hair with his fingers. "This is because rivals almost always seem to find one another. At least the upside is, he does not appear to be under any influence whatsoever." He finished, kissing her head.

Aqua sighed a little and sat up as he prepared himself for the swimming duel. She put on another bikini she had bought the other day which was a darker blue string top. Maximus' trunks were the same color with two white strips on the sides and a sky-blue strip in between.

Everyone gathered at the shoreline as the entire town made it into a celebratory event. Maximus and Aqua were surprised they had set a track with multiple boats spanning towards the island. Each of the boats had red flags upon the poles to help indicate where to swim.

The next moment the Headman approached him. "Hello, my good sir, since you were so gracious to offer this type of duel, we took it upon ourselves to make a track for you two to follow. We also added a little extra for you, which I will explain in a moment when the other gentleman arrives." He informed him with a cheerful smile.

"I wonder what it could be?" Aqua thought to herself trying to come up with ideas.

"You didn't really have to go that far old man besides it was the least I could do to avoid any unnecessary damage to the town." Maximus said feeling everyone was being too generous.

"I see that you have arrived and did not hide away from any challenge this go around." Kyouya's voice called out to him.

"And here comes my least favorite person in this world as of this moment. I thought Darkness would have been bad, but this guy's voice and attitude is somehow making her look as though she is a saint in comparison. This is only because I can find some tolerance to her, but this guy is going to be a thorn in my side for some time to come now." Maximus said to himself and turned around to face him.

He saw Kyouya wore blue swimming trunks as well. "Well if it isn't Kyouya. I see you are energetic as ever, I guess Aqua took it easy on you at the moment of decking your face into the ground. I would have thought you would still be unconscious and not able to have our little race." Maximus smirked at him.

"Ha, that punch of hers barely even fazed me, I only made it look as though I were severely injured. Besides, I would not miss the opportunity to win her over to me." Kyouya said facing away. "Who am I kidding, my jaw still hurts from last night."

"Oh, well if that is true then why are you facing away with your hand on your jaw?" Aqua inquired.

"Uh, about that," Kyouya paused for a moment to scratch the back of his head and began to laugh nervously.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen our first ever swimming competition between these two young men will soon commence. But first, allow me to tell you two we added a little more than just swimming shore to shore. We set up enough boats all along the way to and around it. The entire round trip will be at least ten miles long." The Headman informed them.

"T-ten miles!" Kyouya said with shock and amazement.

"The first one to come back and cross the finish line will be declared the winner. Now let us get the race ready!" The Headman finished shouting with joy and many of the townsfolk joined in.

The two young men stood ready to begin their duel and waited as another woman in a small bikini stood before them a few feet away with small flags in each hand. She raised her arms in the air and both Kyouya and Maximus pressed their weight against the sand. Their toes feeling the tingly sensation of driving deeper into the cool sand.

"Maximus, I know you can do this, he cannot possible beat you!" Aqua cheered him on.

"You can do it Kyouya, show that punk whose boss!" One of Kyouya's companions shouted.

"Yeah!" The other chimed.

"On your marks," The lady said and both Maximus and Kyouya got into a runners stance. The two physical forms of peak human physiques rippled with the flexing waves of their muscles tightening up. Their legs coiled like a snake that is about to strike. The two were in that position for what felt like hours as they waited for the lady to give the signal. Sweat began to trickle down the side of their faces as an attempt to cool off from the beating heat of the sun.

"Now go!" The woman shouted, swinging her arms down.

The moment her words escaped her mouth the two of them sprinted towards the open sea. Both were not making it too much of a spectacle, not running at lighting fast speeds. They wanted to save as much stamina for the entire duration of the race and not burn out mid-way through it. The two dived in once the waters were waist high and began to swim towards the island as fast as they could without burning up too much energy.

Mid way to the island Kyouya was astonished to see Maximus keep up despite his large stature. Maximus almost had the same reaction to his opponent for he did not have near the same physique as he. But began to respect the boy for keeping up with his smaller stature. Both of them remained neck-and-neck as they followed the small flags which circled the island.

"I am impressed you have not employed any method of verbal commentary on how you are going to win this duel of ours and steal Aqua away from me." Maximus shouted over as they round the side of the island.

"I do not need to; I will win for Mi Lady's sake and take her away from your foul treatments of her. All I have to do is beat you in this race and she will be mine!" Kyouya spat back with a little annoyance.

Maximus began to burst out laughing as he maintained his speed and form.

"What is so funny to you?" Kyouya inquired feeling annoyed.

"That you are far more pathetic than I first gave you credit for." He replied and continued to laugh.

"Explain yourself, why do you think that?!" Kyouya demanded.

"It is just that you have no respect for her at all, you cannot bring yourself to call her by name when you see her. Not to mention, she punched you two times with her God Blow and it still has not rung deep into your head let alone her own words. Even if you somehow win this race, do you honestly believe she is going to give up being with her lover for you? You, a boy whose only real quality is that magic sword and nothing else. What do you hope to give her that I already have given? What chance do you think you really have at being by her side so late in the game?" He explained.

Kyouya's mind began to ring with the words Maximus had said along with Aqua's words that was spoken prior to the mornings race. He closed his eyes momentarily and Maximus soon noticed he was falling behind, slowing to a stop.

"Looks like it finally sunk in." Maximus said to himself and turned around to swim up to him and took hold of his shoulder. "Look, I understand you are infatuated with her and who would not be. You seem to have seen a side of her I do not know of yet and may never know. But what you are doing is not helping you at all. Your only emotion for being with her is out of lust and nothing more. Do you honestly think she would fall for you when all you ever do or will do is give her what she wants and not try to help her be better than what she is now? There are moments when spoiling her is okay and others where she has to learn. Why don't you give up this sort of,"

Kyouya quickly punched him in the gut before he could go on and quickly began to swim away. The blow cause him to briefly lose his breath and took a few seconds to collect himself.

"Ha, all is fair in love and war, Maximus, remember that!" He shouted back to Maximus.

"To think his strength has that kind of potency," Maximus paused to flinch in pain. "I will make you regret this little weasel." He began to swim after Kyouya.

The two rounded the edge of the island and Kyouya felt the welcoming false vision of him being in the arms of Aqua after winning the race.

"Yes, I am almost there, soon I will have her and take her away from that fiend!" Kyouya said to himself feeling excited.

"This is going to be difficult, but I made a promise I would not employ magic as it was not a part of the initial duel. We are going for natural endurance, now it is time I kick it into high gear." Maximus said and pushed himself a little more to catch up with Kyouya.

The two began to start the final stretch towards the beach where everyone was watching in eager anticipation. The two were back to being neck-and-neck, both keeping focus on the finish line. Kyouya was surprised to hear him catch up but wanted to remain focused.

Before they were half a mile out, a massive wave mound nearly a hundred feet high funneled towards the two from the open sea. They both briefly looked back and saw a gigantic shadow within. The dark figure gave the impression of a massive serpent barreling towards them.

Everyone at the beach began to run away from the shore as some of the villagers made several comments about it. Aqua overheard them scream and shout how the creature had come out too early and was only supposed to sleep until spring. Others speculated on why it had awakened so early that one of them said the two who were having the swimming race brought this upon them.

Aqua stood there frozen in fear of what was within the massive mound of water, Kyouya's companions did the same. The three of them were petrified at the sight and wondered how large the creature within was. Their bodies were shaking and eyes fixated on the sight until their worst fears became reality.

The head of the Sea Serpent rose up from the cover of the water. The scales upon it bore the look of one who had not been tested against another gigantic beast. They were remarkably close together and appeared to be as tough as hardened steel. The color was a sapphire blue on top and a white under belly.

Maximus turned his head a little more to briefly see what all the commotion was. "By all that is holy, where did that thing swam from?" Maximus said to himself as fear began to grip him.

He began to remember how the Kraken on his world had given him trouble and could only imagine what troubles this gigantic beast would bring.

The monstrous beast opened its massive mouth and revealed several rows of its teeth. Each one was like a sharks teeth were, triangular in shape and serrated edges. The beast smashed down upon the two out at sea with tremendous speeds. It had only happened for a moment, but the three of them, Aqua and Kyouya's companions, standing at shore saw it. Their hearts had skipped a beat from the brief exposure it had shown itself.

"Oh, no, Maximus!" Aqua shouted towards the open waters as tears began to fill her eyes.

The waters splashed to the side and she could not find her lover after searching for several moments. She at first hoped he somehow flew away in time and began to cast her gaze towards the heavens in an attempt to look for him. After a few moments of silence, she fell upon the rough sand of the beach with her hands clapped together. Her posture was beginning to lean forward as she cried out in pain. Kyouya's companions began to wale annoyingly and fell to the ground, the two of them embracing each other.

The next moment the Sea Serpent emerged from the water and flailed about until it looked towards the three of them. It began to slither its way to the shore, eyes focusing on them. For a brief moment Aqua was filled with anger as she stood up and charged after the titanic beast. The creature lifted its head once close and began to lunge forward upon her. The giant mouth opened revealing its massive tongue and blackened mouth. A short roar echoed deep within it as the creature appeared to block out the sun.

"You will know the Power of this Goddess, how dare you bear your treacherous fangs at us, how dare you take him away from me! You shall truly know regret in the pits of Hell lowly creature!" She shouted.

Her tears flying off her face and gliding behind as she made her way towards the creature. Her eyes filled with anger and sorrow and pulled back her right fist.

"God Requiem!" She shouted. "A requiem for a Goddess' Love and Sorrow, whosoever it strikes will,"

Before she could get close to the shoreline where the two would have squared off, she was instantly picked up and flew away from the immediate area. As she felt herself take flight, she saw the giant Sea Serpent smash its mouth upon the beach. The large cloud of sand kicked up and just as quickly as it struck the beach, the monster pulled its head back shaking it briefly.

Aqua soon realized the same caring touch that had always been there whenever she was embraced. She turned to allow her eyes and mind to acknowledge who she was being held by and saw to her surprise, Maximus. Her eyes opened up more and she immediately wrapped her arms around him. Before she could say a word, the two landed further away from the shore and he turned around, sliding across the sands.

"Maximus, you are alive, thank the Gods. You idiot, don't do that again." She said to him as tears of joy washed down her cheeks. "Wait, what if this is all a dream and I am now dead with you?" She wondered out loud.

"If this is a dream, then we should both wake up right now because that beast is still coming!" He said as the Sea Serpent slithered its way towards them, crushing several buildings along the way.

The next moment he snapped his fingers to employ a spell. The next second the gigantic beast snapped its mouth upon them. Aqua saw they were inside the mouth only for a moment until it picked itself up. The creature began to look around as though confused and she soon notice its body had a transparent appearance. Maximus snapped his fingers once more and a ball of light formed in front of the serpent. He motioned his hand to move the ball out to sea and the giant monster followed it as though mesmerized.

"What did you do to it and how are we still alive?" Aqua inquired.

"I employed the Mirror Reality spell to spare us from fighting that creature. On top of that, I used a charm spell causing it to be enchanted and leave. It won't be back at all, at least, not for a long time." He explained.

Once the beast was upon the waters, Maximus cancelled the Mirror Reality spell and continued to make the beast swim further out.

"Let's hope it doesn't decide to learn from its mistakes and comes back for round two. I would much prefer not to fight such a creature." Maximus said with a little sweat gliding down the side of his face.

"Why is that, can you not defeat it?" She inquired as to why he would say such a thing.

"That titanic beast is known as a Leviathan Class Monster on my homeworld. Gigantic creatures who are well beyond man's capabilities of defeating. I wonder if that was a young one, because I have heard stories where a beast like that can get even greater in size and length. Also, I am sure you were able to sense it, even for a brief moment. There was a faint buildup of Anti-Magic which was beginning to swell within the creature. I am sure you could have sensed it, no?" He began to explain and turned his gaze upon her.

Aqua had a blank look, unsure what he meant and at the same time was a little amazed with his knowledge.

He chuckled a little. "Pardon me, I forgot you have not been told or trained how to sense someone's mana presence. I guess, it will be something else I will have to teach you at a later time." He turned back at the sea and noticed the Sea Serpent was gone from sight.

"Hey, where's my Kyouya?" The pink hair girl asked.

"Yeah, wasn't he with you and since when is he yours?" The other girl added.

"How should I know, I lost track of him the moment we were within the mouth of that thing. If he managed to survive, I would imagine he is on the beach somewhere or worst case, in the belly of that beast." He replied.

"Then, then you should go and help him!" The pink hair girl demanded.

"You are out of your mind if you think I am going to fight against that beast. No man, woman, or child can stand against such a creature and live to tell about. Not to mention have the mental fortitude to even look upon it and not quiver in fear. All of those who call themselves brave wind up cowering behind something instead of looking upon it. I have read about other beast of the unknown that have made even me shiver at the thought of seeing such a beast. Not to mention I was mad enough to fight against one, but I lost. I am only alive because someone who was the master of the great creature wanted it so." He stopped for a moment as the memory of the Kraken appeared in his mind.

Aqua noticed his demeaner changed and she placed her hand on his face.

"I suggest you get to finding him if you do not want to be without him for long." Maximus said.

The two girls began to run towards the beach in an effort to find Kyouya. Many of the townsfolk returned from their homes and walked up to applaud him. Some were unfortunate as they died from the short-lived chaos caused by the Sea Serpent.

"Here's a Nature's Beauty to celebrate the winner and the one who saved the town!" Aqua said, jumping down from him and began to do some of her party tricks.

Later on, Maximus used his magic to help repair the small section of town. Several people mourned for the deaths of those who were lost during the tragedy. Night began to fall and everyone was back at the beach celebrating. Maximus used his magic to cause sparks to fly around and crack as they flew around.

Aqua begged him to teach her and soon she began to mimic what he was doing. At one point she summoned too many and a couple of tables caught fire. Maximus quickly caused the flames to leave them and fly around in the form of a fire serpent, enchanting everyone there and some of the kids chased after it. Aqua scratched the back of her head, feeling sorry for any damage she might have caused and returned to Maximus' side. Everyone let it go as he was there to watch over her.

Across the ways was Kyouya, laying on the table in a pit of his own despair. He felt defeated even with their race not finished. He remembered catching up to Maximus and challenging him to another duel which he grudgingly accepted.

Maximus was surprised Kyouya had survived the encounter as he learned when the serpent had collided upon the beach, he saw a quick chance to escape.

"I cannot believe fate was keeping him alive today. It might be a good thing, but then again it might not be. We will see as time passes." Maximus said to himself.

Later that night both Aqua and Maximus were relaxing in their little private pool as they gazed up at the stars. The Holy Water was bubbling from the heat caused by the magic he used. As he laid there, he noticed the smoothing sensation within it and wondered if his body was adapting to it. The two remained silent until feeling the fatigue from the celebration the town put on for him.

"What an interesting day that was, going from excitement to despair and then relaxation. I don't think I could handle such a day again." Aqua said leaning against him.

"I second that and move for a motion to officially call off the adventurer's life." He said looking down into her eyes.

"Let's turn in for the night." She winked at him and he knew what she meant.

He stepped out of the pool first and held out his hand towards her. The moment she was about grab his hand a light from within the pool shined forth. Maximus shielded his eyes with his other hand and wondered what it could mean. The rays of the blue light raised up and out of the pool.

The next moment a ray shot out and Aqua desperately reached out to him. Maximus finally knew what was happening and shot his hand forward. Both of their hands pressed against a barrier and she began to be lifted up in the air. Maximus began to panic as he slammed his hand upon it with all of his might trying to break her free. Cracks began to web out and just as instantly as they were made, they were repaired momentarily.

"No, what's happening?" She shouted feeling confused and fear mounted within her of what unknown force was pulling her away.

The next moment before Maximus could slam his fists upon the barrier once more, a wave of energy shot forth. The force knocked him back against the ground and a ball of light erupted for a brief moment before collapsing on itself. The light disappeared within an instant and Maximus almost as quickly stood up.

"Aqua!" He shouted with rage and fear within his voice.

He looked around wondering if his mind was playing a trick on him and even hoped it was a dream. After a few seconds nothing transpired that would indicate either had happened.

"No, no, no, where are you, Aqua?!" He shouted once more to send his voice high into the heavens and around the area.

Kyouya and some of the people arrived after hearing him the first time. "What has happened, Maximus?" He inquired.

Before Maximus could answer, a parchment fell before him and took hold of it the moment he saw it.

"If you want to see her alive and unspoiled, return back to Axel at dawn the day after tomorrow to discuss her freedom. Arrive promptly at a mansion I have which will be shown to you on the other side of this parchment. Come alone or she dies. Lord Alexi Barnes Alderp." Maximus read out loud.

"I cannot believe that scoundrel would take her. I had heard he would forcefully marry young maidens. Could he be after her like that and what would he want from you that would warrant him taking her?" Kyouya asked with anger in his tone.

"Let me go ask." Maximus said turning away from everyone.

"But there is no way you can make it in time, we are more than a day's ride to Axel, you'll never make it!" Kyouya said taking hold of his arm.

"Watch me." Maximus yanked his arm away.

He took several steps away and squatted down, focusing him magic. The next moment he shot up high in the sky as a gust of sand jumped up. He turned towards the direction of Axel and immediately took off. The massive sonic boom echoed down below shaking everything and everyone. The thunderous crack in the air made everyone brace themselves. His body sped at supersonic speeds through the air as his mind was solely focused on rescuing Aqua.

"Hang on Aqua, I'll be there soon." He said squeezing down on the parchment cutting through the night's sky.


	25. Chapter 25

**The Rescue:**

"Maximus!" Aqua shouted with her hand out and soon noticed she was standing in a dark cell.

The bite of winter's cold pierced her skin immediately after being used to the warm days down at the resort town. Hugging her arms around herself she looked around to see if there were anyone else and walked up to the bars. She took hold of them and felt the icy sting upon them.

"Hello, is there anyone down here? Can anybody hear me?!" She shouted.

Her voice echoed the empty hall and soon had no response to her call. She began to shiver from the chilly atmosphere and sat down against the wall. The moment her skin touched the stone, she quickly moved away after briefly feeling the cold bite. She wrapped her arms around her legs and sat there in the fetal position.

"Where are you when I need your touch the most and are you coming for me?" She said with tears forming in her eyes.

The next moment the echoing sound of an old lock on a door clicked and the door down the hall opened. She sprang to the bars once more and tried to peak down the ways.

"Hello, who is there?" She demanded.

Light began to illuminate the hall reaching up to her cell, footsteps echoed in a slow pace. The sound they carried was heavy as though belonging to an obese man. She could also hear a second pair of steps accompanying the first. The silence of no voices was beginning to make her nerves soar through her.

The next moment Lord Alderp peered around the corner and looked into her cell. His face carried a disturbing smile after he saw her in nothing but the bikini she had on earlier. She backed away feeling uncomfortable from the look he was giving her as she wrapped her arms around her chest. His eyes gazed upon the sight and was feeling quite tempted.

"Had it not been for the letter I sent him you would be mine tonight. But he has until dawn of the next day to arrive and spare you from me. I do hope he takes his time getting here, I would love to spend some time with you." Alderp said chuckling with a sinister tone and his right arm reaching after her.

"What do you want with him anyway?" She inquired.

"It's quite simple really, I want him to walk right up to the King and assassinate the entire royal family. I would go for the idea of manipulating them, but I am not so patient as I used to be. From there he would be my loyal dog and rout any who would dare defy me." He explained.

"There's no way someone like him would just bow to your demands. I would dare say, when he arrives, he will flick you up against the wall like the disgusting fly that you are. Such a lowly being like yourself would stand no chance at making him do what you want. I almost pity you silly human, the wrath of a Nephilim is rarely seen by anyone. With that said, I have seen it employed by him once before when I was choosing to bring him into this world. I, the Goddess Aqua, will enjoy watching you quiver in fear when that happens." She said pitying Alderp for what is to come.

Alderp began to laugh loudly. "But he has to get here first and he may not want to have you when I am done. And yes, I remember hearing about you now. The so-called self-proclaimed Goddess of the Axis Cult. Nice to see those idiots have such demented members one would actually go around saying they were the Goddess herself." He laughed a little more and she noticed he was not believing her. His disturbing grin showed itself once more. "By the way I remember now, you still owe me some money and I am afraid you have racked up some interest. I will have to say, your body is usually not in the prime condition I have a taste for, but I am willing to make an exception for this one case." He finished as he made slurping sounds.

He backed away growling a little, turned to the other person with him and pointed at the cell.

"Open it right this instant, I decided I do not want to wait anymore." He ordered as his smile had a crazed look upon it.

Moments before Alderp entered the dark cells, Maximus arrived above Axel and held his hands out.

"By my command I summon you forth." He said and several familiars appeared on his arms. "Circle far and wide, search for a maid who has sky blue hair and eyes as the deep blue sea. Cast a circle round her and light up the air where she stands. Go quickly and do not fail me." He ordered.

The dozens of familiars began to fly with all haste through the town as he remained in the air to oversee and wait for results.

"I need to be sure she is here and not somewhere else. May God have mercy on the poor soul who has taken her from me, for I will show no quarter to anyone who has a hand in this." Maximus said to himself.

Meanwhile back in the cell within the basement of the mansion Aqua and Lord Alderp was within, he began to salivate at the thought of ravaging her until he was finished. The door opened and he calmly walked in to savor the moment. Aqua backed away against the wall underneath the barred window.

"No, please stay away, don't come any closer." She begged as her eyes began to fill with terror.

"Don't worry, I will try to be as long as possible." Alderp said and raised his hand up, curling his fingers. "Now, time to pay me back in full."

The moment before he could lay his hands on her, one of Maximus' familiars flew through the window and attacked him. The bird clawed and pecked at his face with its wings flapping wildly. He began to back away screaming in pain and retreated from the cell. He ran to the upstairs with the guard hustling behind after locking the cell.

The familiar landed on the floor and crowed at her.

"You must have been sent here by Maximus, huh?" She said with curiosity as she squatted next to it.

The bird crowed once more looking at her and back at the door. The next moment a circle began to form around her and she looked on with curiosity.

"This is his magic, that means you are near." She said to herself.

Meanwhile, Maximus turned toward the direction of the mansion Alderp had instructed him to meet and saw a light begin to form.

"I had a feeling it was there and thank goodness that was the case. Now then," He paused bolting down towards the grounds of the place. He slammed his bare feet upon the ground near the doors to announce his presence. "Let's go in and say hello." He said making his way up the steps to the doors. "Guard her from anyone who tries to harm her." He instructed his familiar and made the rest flock to her.

At the same time Maximus struck the ground, Alderp stopped putting on wash clothes to clean the wounds he had received and looked towards the nearest window. Sweat began to fall down his face and a cold feeling stirred up in his belly along with shivers hiking up his spine.

Aqua heard and felt the rumbling quake, signifying Maximus' arrival to her location. She turned around to look out the window in the hopes of getting a glance of him. She was unable to see him where she was and turned around feeling renewed with the idea he was here, faster than she thought possible.

"I will just have to wait for him," She paused for a moment as her body began to freeze a little. "I wish I could have a blanket to keep me warm."

The next moment the bird hopped to her and crowed once more. She looked up wondering what it was going to do. Before she could do anything several more of them flew in from outside. After a few moments, several dozen arrived within the cell, she soon noticed a majority were forming into a large warm blanket. She grabbed it and wrapped the blanket around herself without hesitation. The warm sensation began to ease the cold bite of the air and she began to wait patiently for Maximus. The next moment she heard another loud boom and immediately after the place shook once more. She smiled a little more feeling a little relieved and giggled at the thought of what is to transpire to those in his wake.

Meanwhile at the front doors, Maximus had used his magic to smash them open and into the entryway. He slowly paced into the mansion and waited to see if there would be a response in the magical employment kind. He was disappointed there were no traps upon the grounds or within the front room. He sighed with annoyance as he stepped out of the debris cloud.

Behind him was the large archway leading to the door. The grand front room was brightened by the multiple lit oil lamps and torches. Aside from the mess he had made, Maximus notice the interior was well kept. A single red carpet spanned from the doorway to the stairs off in the distance. The room was twenty yards long to said stairs and noticed it continued beyond them as well as possibly around. The tiles on the floor and walls were painted a gold color with a glossy tone which made it look as though it would cast a reflection.

"I am Maximus Matthews, and I have come for the one who is dear to me, her name is Aqua. Hand her over now alive and unspoiled and I will consider the option of overlooking this transgression against me. Failure to comply by the time I count to three will ensure your demise in what I can only describe as deeply painful in the most unsavory of ways. If you speak up right now, my spell will ring your voice to my ears and we can discuss this in a civilized manner. Although, I prefer it if you did not answer all. I am willing to give you a chance against my better judgement." He announced with his voice calling out and echoing through the halls.

Aqua began to feel more joy at the sound of his voice. "Maximus, I am in a cell somewhere in this place, help me!" She shouted to get his attention.

The next moment his magic sent her voice to him and he closed his eyes as an outline of the place formed within. The spell caused him to see exactly where she was held and noticed she was down in the basement on the other side of the house.

"Now I know where she is. But where is the little mongrel who took her from me to begin with." He said to himself.

"Hold it right there!" Maxwell's voice echoed out from the top of the stairs before Maximus could take a step and begin counting. "Might I ask what the meaning of this is and why have you barged into my masters summer home?" He inquired.

"Have you come to negotiate or have you come to challenge me? Either way works for me." Maximus said ignoring his question. "Something is wrong with this guy, it's like his aura is off in some way I wonder what it could be?" He said to himself squinting his eyes a little.

"So, you would dare ignore my question with one of your own. You are a brave one indeed. I understand you are a descendant of the Nephilim; I wonder how good you are against a Demon?" He said taking a fighting stance.

"Straight to the point I see, good. I was going to be annoyed and furious to no end if we had to talk it out and go through an endless debate on the rhymes and reasons for why we are here." Maximus said summoning a single longsword in his right hand.

Maxwell did the same and the two waited for several moments. Both of their auras slowly gathering from within and extended out of them like a steady calm fire, slowly dancing upward. The air around the two waved to and fro like a mirage, their auras not yet fully visible.

"So, you say you are a Demon, I had a feeling something was off about you the moment we first met. If he is anything like Archafeld or Naemah, this is going to be a bit of a challenge. However, I now know, what I should have known then, to employ Holy magic upon them. He has the high ground and there is no way around since the walls block and connect at the top of the stairs. I will have to force him down to be on equal footing or cause him to fall. Also, I need to make this quick and get her to safety. I would teleport her out of here, but I do not know where a safe place is to do so." He paused his thought as he took a step towards his foe. "I will worry about that later, for now I need to focus on him." He finished bolting forward.

Maximus stretched his arm out, forming an air bubble in the palm of his hand. Momentarily a larger air bubble formed behind Maxwell. He closed his fist causing it to break and a gust of wind blew his enemy forth and down the stairs.

Maxwell quickly regained his composure and soon saw himself facing down Maximus' blade. He spun his right arm forward in a downward motion to strike his foe. Both of them met at the base of the steps with their gaze locked onto each other. Maxwell grunted and briefly roared out causing a gust of wind to blow Maximus away forcing him to slam into the wall.

The rumbling vibrations echoed through the house and down into the basement. Aqua was a little worried and wondered how it was going. "Please be careful Maximus." She said to herself.

Meanwhile, Maximus stepped out from the wall and began walking towards his foe.

"That was indeed an impressive display of strength, however, it does not seem complete. I wonder if he is holding back or is he a low-level Demon and isn't worth the effort." He paused for a moment to examine Maxwell. "I should tread carefully; his aura is most certainly off and yet still in control. I wonder why it is so off as though he were something else entirely." He said to himself as he dashed forth once more.

The two kept their fight to just swordplay, dancing around the entrance hall. Each time their swords clashed, sparks burst out and loud echoing booms followed. Their swords crossed once more and the two held their ground. Both of their gaze sharply eyeing each other's next move.

The two of them mirrored each other with a kick and both slide away a short distance. They were feeling a little impressed with each other's strengths and began to circle to the right. Slowly pacing like an animal who stalks their prey. Swords gripped tight despite the sweat on their palms. Both of their minds going through so many combinations of where this fight could go.

After circling six steps they both sensed each other was going to make a move. The two bolted after each other, taking the high guard with their swords above them. The moment their weapons were to meet, Maxwell was struck in the heart with Maximus' sword. He soon noticed there was no blood gliding down the blade and looked back at Maxwell.

"As I figured, you are nothing more than just a fake, an ill attempt to copy my Magical Doll spell. However, it still was impressive enough on a first try. Ha, I was wondering why he did not notice I made an illusion to cover my real intent, now I know. The real one must be somewhere within this place or elsewhere." He whispered out and turned to look up the stairs. "Time to find the lord of the house and pay him my respects." He said snapping his fingers once more.

The next moment he employed a magical spell to seek out anyone else outside of Aqua's presence in the building. A few moments later, Lord Alderp was dropped before him. Upon crashing against the floor his right foot was not able to brace properly for the fall and his knee twisted too far. The off-balanced limb took the weight upon it and snapped. He felt a tearing and braking sensation run wild in his knee and shouted in terrible pain.

"It looks as though your knee is not only broken, but you have torn some ligaments as well." Maximus said after using his magic to see the damage and approached. "Now then, tell me your name." He ordered as he picked him up by the collar and held him at eye level.

"I am Lord Alexi Barnes Alderp." He said with tears running down his cheeks caused from the pain.

"So, now I finally have a face to put with the name." Maximus said and moved him a little closer. "Do you want to confess as to why you have made a move against me?" He inquired.

Lord Alderp continued to struggle with the pain and was not answering.

"So, you wish to remain either ignorant or stupid," Maximus paused for a moment to place his left hand over Lord Alderp's face. "Let's see how strong willed your mind is then."

The moment his hand was pressed upon Lord Alderp, a void appeared all around them which extended out from his foe. Maximus looked around and only saw a few images and was disturbed and angry.

"So, you too are nothing more than a Magical Doll, created the moment after I entered this house. I see I have arrived a far earlier than they were anticipating. I also see the damage my familiar has done to him which explains why you were created. You were to take the fall and possibly make me believe he had died or you are a shield for him to escape or both. No matter," He stopped as the void of images faded back into the imposter. "I hope this message reaches you if you are in there or watching from within this house. This is your only warning," He paused to look around the room. "Should you ever attempt to steal her away from me again or cause her any kind of harm; there will be no door for you to hide behind, no force Human, Heaven or Hell, no dark corner, no place of refuge for you to seek shelter from my wrath. Should that day of ignorance come for you, I will drag your living body through the streets, bathing them in your blood. I will ripe out your tongue, gouge out your eyes, cut of your ears, and castrate your body. From there you will wander the Afterlife blind, deaf, dumb, and neutered so that all will know this is Lord Alderp; the fool who angered Maximus."

Maximus used his magic to cause the Magical Doll to catch fire. He noticed the smell had no peculiar scent to it and threw it down upon the floor. Using his earlier gained knowledge, he found his way to the door needed to find his way down to Aqua. He twirled his fingers to unlock the door with his magic and proceeded down the stairs into the blackened basement.

At the bottom of the steps he soon noticed a strange feeling, a presence outside of Aqua's immediately registered. He closed his eyes and opened them once more to see through the darkness and prepared for what was to come. With each step he took the feeling of the being grew and he wondered if it be some ploy to throw him off.

"This is a strange presence, something about it seems awfully familiar." He whispered out.

He began to walk through the halls and after turning several different directions heading towards Aqua, he soon found himself back at the stairs. Thinking for a moment he proceeded once more and decided to change the first turn. After a few moments he found himself right back at the stairs again.

"As I suspected, they must take extra precaution in keeping prisoners down here as well as getting new ones who would dare make a rescue attempt. Clever or you to do such a thing and since there is no actual source here, I cannot dispel this magic. That is of course unless I find the conduit which is transferring the spell to here. Well played." Maximus said out loud.

"That is right Maximus, you do not disappoint me at all. I see that you are more than just a brute after all. You have some skill with magic I see, this should be a treat." Maxwell's voice echoed within his mind.

"On my homeworld I was trained in the arts of magic along with occasionally glancing in a spell book I was given. Besides, it is not good to master only one art in life, we were taught to master all arts, especially where magic is concerned. Though I will confess I am not the greatest and it shows with previous opponents, I must say I am impressed with this employ. Let me take a guess as to how this is happening. You are using magic to create doorways, or portals, to connect to certain spots within this dungeon, and I am sure it is far grander than I would first thing. On top of that you switch it up for every time I start over. Am I getting close?" He said with a smirk.

"A good and close attempt at your first guess, but not quite spot on." Maxwell responded.

The next moment Maximus heard a roar echoing through and off the walls from a large beast.

"Oh, I should warn you, you are not alone down there. I have something else which is extremely hungry for food or was it wanting to do something else or was it both. Your dearest is alone is she not and last I looked; she was quite tempting either way." He began to laugh maniacally. "You better hurry up before something bad happens." He continued his laughter.

Maximus quickly deployed another wave of familiars to fly through the halls.

Meanwhile, Aqua was trembling in her cell after hearing the very loud roar as though it were close. "What was that, it sounded too loud for a normal guard dog." She said to herself.

Soon after she heard the loud heavy footsteps walking towards her. Each step the sound of an earthquakes rumble. The thundering stomps becoming louder by the second until at last the beast was shown by the light from the moon through the window.

It stood nearly the height of the tall hallway, almost ten feet. The form was massive with large bulky muscles and eyes glowing red with a solid black pupils that were looking right at her. Upon its head were a pair of horns which glowed from the light of the moon. The mouth opened to reveal its pearly white teeth formed like a humans.

"No way, i-i-it's a Minotaur!" She said and gulped a little while backing away. "Maximus, please help me!" She shouted.

The familiar in front of her crowed at the monster and flapped its wings. The Minotaur puffed air out of its nose as though it were about to laugh. It took hold of the bars on the cell with both hands and with little effort ripped them from their slots. The beast threw them to the side and took a step in.

The familiar crowed several times more and continued to flap its wings ceaselessly. Momentarily the bird grew in size, almost as large as the minotaur. It fired a ball of electricity which temporarily stunned the beast. The next moment it turned around once more and took hold of Aqua in order to escape from the mansion. The section of the cell fell down and closed the opening. After getting to a short distance, the bird carefully dropped her down and stood next to her.

"But wait, what about Maximus? He is still in there with that giant beast." She protested and the familiar crowed at her once more. "Oh, I do not know what you mean by that, but I got to help him out somehow." She said and began to think for a second until a thought popped in her head. "Wait I know, I can conjure Flood and drown that beast while it's still in the basement. I'll bet Maximus is not down there yet." She finished with a cheerful tone.

She held out her right hand and her staff appeared along with her Hagoromo upon her. "Hear me my faithful followers, it is I, your Goddess, Lady Aqua, who now calls upon you to lend me your strength. Share with me your magical power in order to save my dear comrade." She said, holding up her staff in the air and began to use a graceful tone in her voice she called out. "Sacred Water!" She shouted and her staff opened.

The next moment a circle opened a hole in the sky and a torrent of water dropped down from on high. The waterfall slammed upon the entire mansion, crushing everything under the weight of its might. Maximus heard the clash above and before he could react, the wave quickly seeped into the basement. The water began to flood everything quickly and Maximus was stuck under the debris.

"Great, I am lucky enough not to be crunched but unlucky to now face death by drowning. How could this all happened so quickly?" He wondered.

Meanwhile outside the mansion, the waters continued to flush around the grounds which caught Aqua off guard. She was swept up by the wave which pushed her further away from the large house. The spell was finished being cast and she looked around seeing the devastation it had caused. The waters had also extended into the town and flooded a portion of the streets.

"Uh oh, it looks as though I over did it, I hope this does not come back to bite us later on." She said feeling terrible for allowing the spell to go too long.

The next moment Maximus burst out from the debris of the mansion. When he landed a short distance from Aqua, he spat out some water which had slipped through his lips. He had tried to hold his breath long enough to use his magic to escape. He coughed several times to clear his lungs and tried to take deep breaths.

"What in heavens name is going on, where did all this water come from?" He said out loud with amazement and a little annoyance.

"Maximus, you are alright, I knew you would come for me!" She shouted with joy in her voice and tears falling down her cheeks. "Hopefully, he will not suspect I did all of this." She said to herself worrying how he would take the news of her previous deed.

Maximus turned to her and the two held each other tightly, afraid of letting go should the worst happen.

"I am overjoyed to find you are not hurt or spoiled." He paused for a moment and the two looked into each other's eyes. "I will not lose you from my side again, I promise you that." He finished what he wanted to say at the moment.

"I know you will and should the rare chance of it happening again, I know you will rescue me no matter who it is that takes me." Aqua said placing her forehead against his.

"You can count on that," He paused to pick her up and canceled the familiar behind them. "By the way, do you know what is with all the water around here and where did it come from?" He asked, pulling her back to look in her eyes.

"I sort of conjured up a flood to dump on that minotaur." She said pressing her index fingers together and tried to sound innocent.

"Wait, that was you!" He said raising his voice. "Do you realize you could have killed me had it not been for my timely reaction?"

Her face puffed up a little with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I thought you were on a different floor as well as on the other side of the mansion. I also thought I cast a smaller flood spell, but I realized it too late and could not stop it in time."

"You do realize casting flood, no matter how small, still leaves a big impact? You really need to be careful to think more than one step ahead. The next time this happens, try to think further up to ten steps ahead! In fact, it is probably best you do not go questing ever again let alone be a part of any battles." He snapped at her.

"I said I was sorry okay; how many times do I have to say it? Also, please do not take me off of quests, I promise I will not do something so drastic again and I will be a better party member." She cried out to him.

Maximus could not help to stay mad at her for too long and sighed letting his frustrations go. "Look all things aside, I do appreciate the help, just try to be more careful in the future." He said to her feeling bad he was snapping at her, but knew it was necessary and she nodded her head. "Now, what say you to the idea of going home tonight to our castle?" He inquired.

"I have no objections to that." She replied quickly standing straight up with a smile.

The next moment they appeared before their home within the forest and stood before the outer gate. He used his magic to sense the entirety and found no trace of any traps. They proceeded to enter their home and laid down upon the sofa within the living room. The two were still in their swim attire relaxing by the fire, letting the nights events pass on by. The warm welcome of the fire lathered across their skin, warming them up from the chilly aftereffects from the calming of their nerves.

"Were you able to figure out who took me from you?" She inquired looking up at him wondering if her inclining was correct.

"It was Lord Alderp who used his puppet Maxwell to steal you away from me." He briefly replied.

"I figured as much after I saw him appear in front of my cell when I arrived." She said resting her head on his chest.

"Although I caught them off guard by arriving too early for them to fully prepare, I fear the next attempt I may not get there in time. So, we will need to be extra careful in our day-to-day activities from here on. I cannot bear the thought of what he might do to you then." He replied and held her a little closer.

She noticed his concern within his embrace. "I know what he would most likely have done, the way he looked at me with that crazed look in his eyes. If not for your familiar's arrival, I could have been made his plaything." She said as she cried.

"It is over and done with now, we will have to tread carefully as I said before. We should get some rest for upon the morning, we have a lot of cleaning up to do within town." He said.

"Okay, but let's stay here for now, I don't want to move from this spot." She replied feeling tired from the day's events.

"Alright." He said as he cast a spell upon the fire to go all night.

Meanwhile, Lord Alderp had a servant tend to his wound in his estate located at the capital. He was sitting there patiently until a stinging sensation caused him to flinch and he motion them to leave.

"Well, he arrived there faster than I anticipated, for I had no idea he could fly, much less at that speed. So much for that little ploy, we will have to be extra careful when bringing him in next time. Although, he will be on his upmost alertness in protecting her. I fear we may have played our best hand against him and vice versa. That would have been the best way to keep him on a leash so he would serve me. Oh well, I can come up with more ways to reel him in next time around." Alderp said glancing into upon the large magical image showing the results of what happened.

"We should also remember to employ my Magical House well in advance in order to keep him there before forcing him to us." Maxwell said grinning with excitement.

"Yes indeed, we should do that and prepare it with traps and spells of all kinds." Alderp suggested.

"I will also ensure to have various beasts roam the halls to attack him in order to wear his mana supply down and have each door lead to somewhere else, locations upon this world or other magical dimensions. Also, I will need to make it difficult for him to find her and to do that we would need to make all the cells have no windows to ensure no outside interference from his familiars." Maxwell paused for a moment. "But even with all of those preparations, the main concern is capturing her again. I highly doubt she will be easy prey for us to ensnare the next go around. As you stated before, he will be on his highest alertness."

"Then we will have to give him a false yet true sense of security for the time being." Alderp said grabbing his chin.

"But surely he will suspect such a thing from us." Maxwell suggested.

"True, but we still have time to employ my move. There is no need to rush, we have plenty of time. Also, if you harbor any feelings of failure, you should view this as a test run for next time. Oh, how that day will be in the near future for him when he falls into my trap once more. Also, his woman is quite the looker now that I think about it more, I will make her mine in due time as well." Alderp said and began to laugh with an evil grin.


	26. Chapter 26

**The Winter Shogun Steps Forth:**

Another week went by and Maximus was sitting at the table within the Guild Hall. He and Aqua had wrapped up a performance where she would control water and he used fire for a show that dazzled everyone. The two made each element take on different forms and danced above everyone. He smiled after remembering how everyone complemented them and sat there wondering about the rest of his party.

"It's still strange how no one has seen Kazuma for several weeks since we left town a little while back. Even Darkness, Megumin, and Wiz are having troubles finding out where he has gone to. I had first thought he was still under the employ of Lord Alderp, but that has not been the case." He paused his thoughts as he glanced at the Quest Board.

He noticed nearly all of the easy quests had been taken down. Due to winter arriving a lot earlier this year than previous, one adventurer had commented. The snow was already gathering all around and a vast majority of the weaker animals began to hibernate until spring leaving only the tougher ones around. He then thought about their money situation and how they were now in debt with the entire town.

"What a load this has turned out to be, Aqua's flood darn near destroyed some houses and ruined the streets in town. The officials tallied it out to one-hundred million in debt. I manage to store the water into large storage containers by the Guild Hall, rebuilt the homes, and cleaned the streets, but they insist I owe them something. I was able to talk them down to half that, even though it should have been no harm no foul after everything was repaired and meticulously cleaned. These folks are quite the greedy bunch to say the least." He paused as he saw Aqua walk in with the other two.

He waved them down and they began to make their way to him.

"Then again, the Headman of this town is under the employ of Lord Alderp and he is just as greedy and rotten. From the few stories I have heard about this Headman, the two might as well be carbon copies of each other. It seems I am in an uphill bout to escape every foul thing in this town now. I manage to repair my reputation with ease, but still everything is far from great." He finished his thought and both Darkness and Megumin greeted him.

"Maximus, it is good to see you are ready to go on our next hard quest with an impossible monster to battle against. Oh, how I have missed going on any quest with you and Aqua gone for so long. Please, can we go on a super hard one!?" She took hold of his shoulders and begged as though she were a child.

Maximus sighed, remembering how peaceful it was with just him and Aqua spending time together without the others.

"Right on cue as always with your unbelievable masochist thoughts and attitudes." He said feeling annoyed with her tone and took hold of her arms. "If we do go on a quest, I have half a mind to let you live out one of your fantasies of being captured. In fact, I just might purposefully allow it to happen so you can be tortured in all ways that I can only describe it as deeply disturbing; an ordinary person would squeal at the mere thought of it. Not to mention if you want it so badly, I would bet no one would give it to you because of the enjoyment coming from it rather than not wanting it." He paused once more, standing up from his seat. "In fact, why don't you go pick out a quest where you would get ravaged by a pack of wolves. I am sure you will not be in any real danger considering how tough you are and have displayed in the past." He began to walk away from her, heading to the bar.

His annoyance was churning into anger as all her moments of delving into her masochist ways began to reappear in his mind. He sat down on the stool in order to get away from her.

"Goodness sakes, it has not been even but a minute and she is already getting under my skin." He said to himself and wondered how he was going to handle being around her again.

"Did I say something to upset him?" She asked out loud.

"It's more of he was used to being away from the rest of the party while at the beach with me. I guess you could say he is still in the vacation mindset for when we were there." Aqua said with a grin seeing the reaction he had towards Darkness. "I don't have to worry too much about her trying to snag him away from me. Ever since that one night before all this craziness began and the times we spent together and the couple of times he has rescued me. I know he will always come back to me. For a Goddess such as I, once a bond has been completely established nothing will break it." She said to herself and began to think about the two of them.

"By the way Maximus, we need to pick out a quest since you did agree to go on at least once per week. We are already at mid-week and we haven't gone on one yet." Megumin said with a sad tone as she stepped to his side.

"Hey, you're right, let us go on one right now!" Aqua said with excitement. "Besides, I need money in order to pay off the debt I tallied up from my flood spell last week. We should pick one with a huge payout!" She said looking serious and showing a rare little display of responsibility.

"Huh, how come you are being serious just now?" Darkness inquired.

"Oh, well, you see, ever since being informed about our debt, Maximus has put me on, how do you say, timeout from buying nice things, such as the really expensive and super rare wine and other things." Aqua giggled with her index fingers pressed against each other with an ill attempt to look innocent.

"I still cannot believe you bought all that wine yesterday! All of our tip money we got from our little shows we do every day got wasted on the most expensive wine imaginable! How are we supposed to eat let alone buy winter clothing now when are money has run out?" Maximus snapped at her and she flinched as he approached her. "That money was supposed to last us until spring, but no you had to go and waste it on those beverages. How, may I ask, did you even get enough money to pay for all of it. Because I checked the price on each of those bottles when I went to return them and noticed they all were more than what we had. So how did you do it?" He inquired trying not to let his anger explode.

Aqua looked up at him with an innocent smile. "I created some money from the creation magic I observed you doing and briefly told me about during the few times on vacation."

Maximus was astonished she was capable of employing such a spell and was speechless for a few moments. "To think she somehow learned such a basic yet complex spell as that, wait a minute," He paused his thought. "How did you learn it so fast, usually creation magic takes months to learn, even if it is a small object. There is a lot that goes into it. You have to learn how to analyze an item, figure out its structure, materials, and so on, then summon the materials to you. How did you do it?" He inquired feeling a little impressed.

"I learned it through my adventure's card." She replied showing her card to him and it displayed a list of spells she had learnt and the last two were listed as Analysis and Creation. "Since you told me how to do it and showed me as well as informing me that it is such a basic spell, my card picked it up and I had enough points to learn them. So, I learned how to do it and the card allowed me." She finished explaining.

"I thought her intelligence was too low for it, but then again, she has learned other spells for her class as an Arch-Priestess. So, it would stand within reason to assume she could learn other spells, to a certain degree, I guess." He thought to himself.

"What is wrong, why do you have a 'I could not possibly learn anything' look on your face? Do you really think that low of me, do you really think I cannot learn anything?" She asked and her mind finally registered what he said earlier. "Wait, did you say you returned all of the expensive bubbly, literally all of it?" She inquired with distress on her face.

"Yes, I took a large amount back. It took some convincing mind you, but I returned nearly all of it!" He replied folding his arms.

"I don't believe it," She paused for a moment and quickly latched onto him. "How could you Maximus, why would you do such a thing?" She cried shaking his coat.

"It was because we needed that money to eat, maybe not the whole winter, but enough to last us a few days at most. So, how about you don't do such a thing next go around. Also, that was rather selfish of you to think only for yourself and not the most important person in your life living right beside you. If we were not in some kind of relationship, I would almost have half a mind to leave you in the stables while I live in our home." He snapped at her.

"No please, don't leave me there! I am sorry for acting in such a way, I promise I'll do better from now on, I will be a good party member!" She cried, grabbing a hold of his coat as tears formed.

After a few moments he sighed, feeling himself give in to her crying.

"And there's the charm she carries around, I cannot stay mad at her for too long, at least not today, I'm not in the mood for it. I will discipline her later." He paused his thought momentarily. "Geez, what a softshell I am turning out to be." He gently took hold of her shoulders to get her attention and she turned her eyes up to his. "Look, it's ok to screw up from time to time, but at least make the effort to better yourself even if only a little each day." He said with a caring tone.

She stopped momentarily with her face puffed up in a cute way, sniffing her nose. He sighed to let out the small amount of frustration and patted her head.

"One other thing about creation magic in regard to money, promise me you will not use such a spell again to escape hardship." He said.

"But you used it while we were at the Resort Town." She complained.

"That was because we were on vacation. Besides, if you use it too often, you will never learn anything or feel grateful for all the hard work one would put in when you achieve or are rewarded with something." He turned his gaze upon the Quest Board. "Now, how about we choose a quest to go on and leave this philosophical concern behind."

"I thought you would never ask, let us go on one with an extremely difficult monster that would be impossible to defeat!" Darkness nearly shouted with excitement.

"Such a broken record with her." Maximus said to himself. "Well, let's see what they got and pick one out." He said and they stood before the board.

After a few moments, he noticed the ones left were hunting extremely difficult monsters.

"Wow, so many extremely high-level ones are the only types left on the board." He said feeling surprised to see so many.

"Maximus, this one is requesting aid to hunt down a pack of White Wolves! Oh, the agony of being torn apart by their vicious teeth sounds exhilarating!" Darkness proclaimed imagining the joy of her tormentors ripping her about and gnawing on her.

"Sound as though it's right up your alley, go ahead and take it for yourself. Once it is all over let us know how it all turned out." Maximus said sarcastically.

"Wait, you would let me go at it alone, but what if something happens to me?" She inquired feeling surprised he would suggest such a thing.

"I am confident you can handle it alone and should danger arise, I highly doubt you will be in serious danger." He replied with his eyes closed and his arms folded across his chest. "At least when you die, I will have one less idiot to deal with. I never thought I would lose my patience with her in such a fashion. Perhaps being away from her too long has changed me in some way or it might just be because I am worried for Aqua's safety more so than others, I have lost my touch in dealing with her." He said to himself.

"But surely you would not let a young virginal knight to be defiled by such horrific beast. To be ravaged physically and eaten in a vicious manner?" She asked.

"Seeing as how the noble high-born lettuce and cabbages proved to be more than a match for your armor, but not your bear skin. Not to mention Megumin's Explosion spell into the mix, I rather doubt your skin would suffer any damage at all." He continued and placed his hand on her shoulder. "So, go ahead and hunt the wolves to your hearts content." He finished and turned back to the board.

"Well, if that is the case, then I should not go alone." She said turning to the side. "I wanted him to berate me on how silly the idea of going on such a quest would be suicide. However, he has chosen not to. I feel so conflicted, I want to go on this quest, but the idea of not having his eyes lust after my naked form would be unbearable!" She said to herself and felt a little depressed.

"Oh, for Heavens sakes, is that all she is going to be concerned about and she seems Hell bent on the idea of having me fall for her masochist ways. Well tough luck, cause I would never go for someone who has a sadistic side such as that to chase after." He said to himself after reading her thoughts with a mind reading spell he had wanted to practice on.

"Maximus look at this one. It's about a quest to slay a One-Hit-Kill Bear." Megumin suggested with excitement and spun around with her staff pointed high in the air. "I will show that bear who has the strongest one-shot attack in all the land. No one can withstand or is even a match for my Explosion spell!" She proclaimed.

"You are as insane as Darkness." Maximus quickly said. "Why, just the name of such a creature would imply it has enough strength to kill you the moment its eyes rest upon you, much less taking a hit from it. Do you honestly believe that quest is even worth undertaking? I bet the possibility of dying is so high, you might as well just quit the business right here and now. No way are we going on this quest!" He informed her and she felt depressed from his decision.

The next moment a flyer caught his attention and he began to inspect it further.

"Duo Thieves Strikes Again!" He read out loud and they all looked at the flyer he was reading. "It mentions about two thieves who has robbed another Lord's manner and stole a large portion of gold and precious belongings. A reward for the information and whereabouts will be given to anyone so long as it pans out." He finished the brief description on the post.

"I wonder who could those two be and how much are they offering?" Aqua peaked in front of Maximus as she inspected it further. "One million for the information leading to their identity's or four million for their live capture, this would be great for us to take!" She said with excitement.

"I agree, however catching any thief is no picnic. You have to be very crafty and clever to catch one, let alone spot one out of the crowd. How about we just keep our eyes on this as it unfolds, maybe when more information about this duo comes forth, we will take it. For now, we will have to focus on something else." He informed her and she felt bummed after being shot down.

His eyes soon discover a flyer about a Scouting Quest. "Need information about the Mobile Fortress Destroyer which has been sighted in the neighboring countryside. Information about its projected path and timeframe of arrival will be highly valuable." He read out loud and studied the picture. "The darn thing looks as though it resembles an arachnid, I wonder why that is?" He said to himself with a shiver moving up his spine and turned to the others. "So, what's a Mobile Fortress Destroyer anyway?" He inquired.

"Not A Destroyer, The Destroyer." Darkness corrected him. "An ancient mobile fortress that lays waste to everything in its path. Entire cities have been razed to the ground whenever it tramples through one. All who have attempted to stop it, fail miserably." She explained.

"It moves around wandering from place to place, aimlessly, without any care to those below it. Many people have attempted to communicate with it, only to be vaporized the moment they are too close as it is protected by a massive and powerful barrier that incinerates any and all who touch it! It's also weirdly popular with children too." Megumin added in a serious tone waving her arms around as if to imitate it.

"Something like that actually exists in this world, it's a wonder anyone is still left alive at all!" Maximus said with amazement. "I guess something such as that would be best left alone, however, if it's sighted already, then there is a possibility we could be staring it down in the future. We should probably look to deal with it sooner though." He said to himself and took hold of the flyer.

"Are you actually considering taking such a quest?" Aqua asked feeling a little concerned and began to protest the idea.

"It only calls for its whereabouts, general location, and the direction it's headed. Although, I might know of a way to deal with it when the time comes. However, employing such a thing would be extremely risky. We'll keep this in mind for later as well." He said placing it back.

She turned away and saw a quest that caught her eye. "Hey why don't we take this one." Aqua said peeling a flyer off the board. "It's a quest to kill Snow Sprites, they are offering a hundred thousand per kill." She informed them.

"Hey, that's a great idea! I heard with every sprite you kill Spring arrives half a day early!" Megumin said with a cheerful tone.

"Yes, that would be a great idea!" Darkness added as she tried to hide her overjoyed smile which Maximus noticed before it faded.

"Why would she be interested in a silly quest such as this. For one who enjoys torment from others, this raises much concern and must be taken with the utmost care." Maximus said to himself wondering what the brief moment of anticipated joy could be for. "Very well, let's go on this quest for today, we cannot be too picky on what we choose, so let us go." He said still keeping his suspicious eyes on Darkness.

The four of them arrived in an open valley not far from the castle Maximus and Aqua were living in. His gaze was focused on it in the distance and a part of him began to regret the choice of going on a quest.

The bite of the winter air was sharp, piercing upon his face as though needles were jabbing into his cheeks. His hands tingled at the same sensation as they pressed forward. Aqua was wearing a white hat, a coat over her normal attire, and white winter thigh high boots. She was sticking close to him not wanting to be too far from him.

"Hey, by the way, what are those for?" Maximus inquired after noticing she was carrying a container strapped to her shoulder and holding onto a net.

"Oh, I plan on capturing and storing them to make ice for snow cones." She said with cheer.

"What's a snow cone?" He inquired as he tried to imagine what they would be like.

"Oh, that's right, on your world you have nothing like that, huh. Well allow me to explain, first you take some crunched up ice and put them in a paper cup in the shape of a cone. Then you add food coloring, which is sugar water in different colors and presto, you have made a snow cone." She smiled after walking backwards.

The next moment she tripped over her own footing and Maximus instantly caught her. His right arm was around her back and his left hand took hold of her right hand. Her body was leaning back at an angle and she began to giggle.

"I knew you couldn't resist helping me." She said.

"Oh, so you did that on purpose I see." He paused and let her fall down.

"Hey, what did you do that for, you big meanie!" She shouted feeling a little angry.

"Whoops, my grasp seems to have slipped, for I thought I saw a dangerous creature a short distance ahead." He shot back to tease her.

"Where, where is this dangerous foe, I am ready you fiend!" Darkness interrupted their little playful moment as she jumped in front of the two.

"There she goes again." Maximus said to himself.

Megumin looked back and the three of them had no expression on their faces for the expected reaction Darkness would do.

"So much for our little moment we were going to have, way to go Darkness." Maximus said helping Aqua to her feet. "By the way, I cannot help but notice you are extremely underdressed for this quest. What happened to your armor and why are you not wearing it?" He inquired to address why she was only wearing regular attire.

"There is no need to worry, besides, it would have been extremely cold to wear it today." She said still trying to hide something.

"Something is up, her usual self would revel at the prospect of enduring intense pain. With her armor, she would have said something on the lines of the cold metal is peeling the skin off my naked flesh and what not. But here it's as if she's anticipating on something to arrive and has opted out wearing her armor. Something about this quest is off, as though I may be the only one here who does not know something important. But the other two have yet to say anything or give off any notion. I should tread extra careful and be on alert for anything." He said to himself keeping a sharp eye on them, especially Darkness.

"Hey, here they are, lots of Snow Sprites!" Megumin shouted with joy and began to chase after one.

Darkness also joined the hunt and was unable to hit her target. Maximus was reminded how pathetic her aim was and he began to feel embarrassed being near her.

Hah, I got you." Aqua shouted and giggled showing Maximus a jar full of sprites. "Look how many I have caught so far Maximus."

He gave her a thumbs up and a half smile. "Well, I guess it's about time I join in, although they are so harmless, I almost feel bad about the thought of slaying them." He said to himself as they floated around him. "I'll just make it fast."

He formed a small fire disk and threw it forth like a frisbee. The next instant the fire disk chopped the two dozen that were floating around him. He soon noticed more were floating towards their direction, gathering near, and spinning around them. They twirled upward forming a funnel stretching up to the sky.

"I wonder why they have gathered together and not retreat from us; this is a strange behavior." Maximus whispered out loud.

"This would be the perfect time to use my spell in order to vaporize them in one shot!" Megumin shouted.

Maximus sighed. "Very well, just don't get us while you are at it okay."

"Of course not," She said and began to ready her spell. "By my efflux of deep crimson, topple this white world of snow and ice! Explosion!" She shouted.

The next moment the sky turned dark and sparkles of lights glittered the air around them. A stream of curious visible mana flowed to and fro and soon after a large spark ignited before them. It quickly expanded into a fireball that grew with every second. The loud thunderous boom echoed throughout the valley as the flames engulfed the Snow Sprites in its wake. Aqua braced herself by holding onto Maximus as he shouldered the blast.

"That was too close to us you buffoon!" He shouted into the deafening echo.

The air began to calm as a sudden heat wave encircled around them and soon the cold air returned to bite their refreshed skin.

Megumin fell flat on her face as, giggling ecstatically. "Oh wow, I almost forgot how amazing this feels."

"So, after that display how many did you get?" Maximus inquired.

"I only got eight of them as the rest were blown away. But I managed to level up." She replied and gave him a thumbs up.

The others began to recollect themselves and Aqua inspected the jar she had several of them in.

"Maximus, would you be able to send these back home so we can store them?" Aqua inquired.

The moment before he could say a word or perform the simple teleportation spell, a violent gush of stinging cold air flowed directly to them. A snow cloud barreled past them as the winds continued to pick up speed. The whiteout from the blizzard was so thick they could not see past their noses.

Maximus held Aqua close as he wondered if a freak blizzard had been conjured up because of Megumin's spell. Soon he could sense a presence closing the distance towards them, slowly as if walking in the distance. His body was beginning to shake from the intense surge of power he was feeling.

"What is this strange presence that is before us? It feels so strong, I cannot even move an inch at this moment." Maximus said to himself.

"He is here, I was hoping we would run into him while being out here!" Darkness was overjoyed, knowing who was heading for them.

"Who is she talking about, who is here?" Maximus inquired of Aqua.

Her grip was more noticeable as he could feel her pressing against him tighter. "It's the Winter Shogun!" She replied with fear in her voice and he took notice of her tone.

"This should be interesting, although I wonder what this shogun would look like." He said to himself unsure of what to expect as the winds kept howling upon them. Soon after a pair of bright blue eyes illuminated in the distance before them. Maximus kept Aqua close to him, while preparing for the unknown foe.


	27. Chapter 27

**The Winter Battle:**

Moments after the blizzard roared upon them it began to lighten its intensity, as though someone were controlling it. A few more seconds went by and the storm soon formed an eye within the clouds. The circular wall of snow and ice spun around them ensuring their escape would be fruitless.

The next moment the eyes within the wall walked out and they all saw the figure's image clearly. The clothing and armor the being wore was white as the snow around them with shades of black around the neck, wrist, and elbows, and behind the knees. The armor was that of a Samurai, but foreign to Maximus. His form almost appeared transparent and to Maximus' eyes he looked like a ghost. He had thought it be odd for someone to wear such a type equipment.

"So, this is the Winter Shogun, do you know anything about him that might be useful incase we have no choice but to fight him?" He turned to Aqua who looked back at him with fear in her eyes.

"Are you insane, no one has been able to defeat him at all!" She replied as her fear was swelling within her.

"It's true, all who have come to seek him out in the past have died, never to return. The Kingdom has placed an enormous bounty on him and for the longest time no one has even tried to go after this fearsome foe. It is also rumored he is even more powerful than the Demon King himself." Darkness informed him and began to pant like a dog with her excitement overflowing her. "To think, a virginal knight, such as I, to be cut down by a shogun will be a glorious thing to experience. To feel his blade, carve a mark upon me will be a great reward!" She shouted with glee.

"Can you not think of anything else outside of being tortured, tormented, or killed by anything in this world!" Maximus shouted at her.

The next moment the Winter Shogun turned towards Aqua and within the same instant bolted towards her. He appeared behind her with his sword drawn, high in the air. Maximus was surprised at the speed of the being and had turned around in time to see his opponent's weapon swinging down upon her. He quickly employed a magical barrier in front of her and was stopped. He quickly shot his leg up and aimed his foot at the midriff of his foe's body. The moment his foot was about to connect, it pasted through.

"What?!" Maximus said out loud and quickly took hold of Aqua.

His mana flowed through his entire body and the next moment zapped away sliding across the snow ten yards away.

"What just happened?" Aqua and Darkness asked out loud.

The two were unable to keep pace with the movements of Maximus and the Winter Shogun. Their speeds were so fast everything happened within a single second, beyond what they could comprehend.

"I did not expect him to move that fast," Maximus said and looked down at his coat that had a single tear near his chest. "Not only did he cover the distance between you two, but also changed the direction of his sword at the same rate of speed. On top of that, his body does not appear to be able to take any physical form of damage. I thought it was only for show, but it turns out we are up against a ghost and I am nowhere near prepared to take one on let alone know how to deal with one."

"He is not a ghost." Aqua said picking herself up. "He is a creature of this world who did not have a real body. That is until he ran into someone with a divine relic that gave him his current form." She continued and began to feel ashamed and hunched over a little.

"What do you mean by that, explain yourself?" He inquired keeping an eye on his opponent.

"Well, you see, I have sent a lot of people here from the land of Japan upon Kazuma's home world and one of them happened to have an item which had the power to give form to this being. He must have tapped into the subconsciousness of that person and took this form for whatever reason." She said pressing her index fingers together trying to act innocent.

"Wait, you mean to tell me some imbecile from another world is responsible for accidentally creating this thing." He paused for a moment to look back at her. "Actually, it would be more accurate to say you are ultimately the cause for this. Why do I get the feeling you didn't want me to come here to defeat the Demon King like you originally told me to do, but picked me out just so I can clean up the mess you ultimately made." He said with a little anger in his voice.

Aqua screeched in fear dropping the jar of Snow Sprites and bowed before him. "I'm sorry for what I did to you, I mean, I already got your forgiveness didn't I?"

"Yes, I already forgiven you for killing me, there's no need to drag that back up anymore. Although I wish you had told me the real reason behind all of this, but there is no need to. It is not like it is going to change anything between us. It just would be preferable to know the real reasons up front. Now how do we defeat this guy?" He said to her.

"As we are, we stand no chance against him." She said grabbing the jar to open it to release the captured Snow Sprites. She took a deep breathe and bowed upon the ground graciously. "We are so sorry."

"What are you doing? He inquired of her.

"What do you mean, is it not obvious? The Winter Shogun is forgiving, all we have to do is drop our weapons and bow before him and he will leave us in peace." She informed him.

"More like in pieces, there is no way he would just forgive and forget just like that, especially after the number of Snow Sprites we vanquished." He said to himself.

The Winter Shogun bolted towards Maximus raising his sword to strike once more. The next instant Darkness stood before him and positioned her sword to parry his. The moment their blades met, hers was cut in two.

"Oh no, my sword had no effect!" Darkness stood there surprised.

"We need to get out of here before it's too late!" He shouted at Darkness.

"Then go, I will stay behind to cover your retreat! As a knight it is my duty to safeguard the helpless!" She shouted back.

"This is no time for your silly games, we need to run." He said grabbing her shoulder.

"Then go." She pushed him back and turned around.

The next moment the Winter Shogun bolted towards Aqua once more for another attack. Maximus appeared behind her and wrapped her in his arm. The next instant the sword hit the ground and Maximus appeared next to Darkness.

"You were saying about 'all forgiving' this guy is." He said to her and she giggled to try and sound innocent once more.

He turned and noticed Megumin was still face down on the ground and looked at the others.

"I cannot believe I am about to do something so drastic and rash." He said to himself. "Aqua, I need you to carry Megumin and get her as far away from here as possible. Darkness, when I give the signal, and you will know when you see it, I will need you to carry my body too." He instructed.

"What do you mean by that?" They both asked at the same time.

"I am about to do something that might work against him and at the same time it is a risky move to the highest extreme. The reason I say this is because, I get the strange feeling no matter where we go or how far we run, he will chase after us." He explained.

"Why do you want me to carry you and how do you expect me to do that?" Darkness asked.

"Aqua, I need you to give Darkness and yourself a boost in strength and speed to escape. I will hold him off in Soul Form for as long as I can. Now go!" He ordered. "This is going to hurt like no other just to activate this maneuver. Good thing I read a little more into this technique way back before coming here." He said to himself.

The next moment Aqua cast the spells upon the two and at the same time Maximus' right hand was engulfed by a malevolent aura. Before they could inquire what was upon his hands, he rammed it upon his chest, over his heart. The stinging sensation stretched all over his body and soon his soul appeared out of it.

At that same moment, the Winter Shogun bolted towards them and before he could strike them, his body was struck upon his midriff. The force of the blow sent him flying back twenty yards away and he flipped in the air to land on his feet, sliding against the snow. He tilted his head slightly with a confused expression in his eyes.

"What just happened?" Aqua asked out loud, amazed at what had transpired.

"I am not sure, but somehow the Winter Shogun was repealed just now." Darkness replied.

"What are you waiting for, get out of here now!" Maximus' voice shouted at them and they noticed his transparent soul standing in front of them, coming into view.

They both nodded and began to make a break for it.

"Wow, I cannot believe that actually worked, although, considering your transparent form, it was the right call to make. Now let us continue our little battle!" Maximus shouted with an excited look on his face and the two charged at each other once more.

The Winter Shogun raised his sword once more and when they were a few yards apart, Maximus used his magic to boost his speed and slammed his right fist upon his foe's chest.

At the same moment Maximus took hold of his opponent's right wrist, pulling it forward, moved his right hand upward to lift him up. He held him above his head momentarily and threw him down upon the ground. The Winter Shogun laid with his back against the snow and had another confused expression. Maximus noticed the impact did not cause him any harm.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Maximus whispered out.

The Winter Shogun swung his sword at Maximus' legs. He noticed the attack coming and maneuvered backwards, away from the strike.

"Can this guy not take any kind of damage, I mean, I know I hit him in a fatal spot where his heart should be, but nothing happened to him at all. What is at play here, what kind of creature can negate such a blow?" Maximus said to himself.

He used an analysis spell to see if he could get any information that would be useful for the battle. The moment he cast it, his vision glitched, as if something were preventing him from learning anything.

"How is that possible, does he have some sort of defense against my spell or is it there is no knowledge to gain from this being?" He said to himself and concentrated his spell a little more which yielded the same results. "I see, you seem to have some sort of resistance against magic being employed upon you." He said out loud.

The next moment the Winter Shogun bolted towards his with his sword lunging forth. Maximus stepped to the side, out of harm's way, and took hold of his sword arm. He sent his right hand down upon his foe with a balm blow. With his wrist aiming for his opponent's face. Before it struck the Winter Shogun blocked his strike by locking his hand with Maximus'.

"His speed has increased to keep up with me, impressive. However, I cannot stay in this state for long, hopefully they are far away from here. Although, I got a feeling the two of us are locked in battle and can only leave when one of us is dead." Maximus said to himself.

Maximus slammed his right knee against his opponent's chest and quickly lifted him up, swinging him to throw him on his back. The moment before the Winter Shogun was to crash upon the ground, he maneuvered his feet to land on it and with his strength stopped himself. Maximus was surprised he prevented himself from landing on his back. The two stayed there for a moment before Maximus was then lifted up and thrown forward.

Maximus suddenly stopped himself inflight and barreled back towards his opponent. He appeared behind his foe and backhanded him with his right fist. The force of the blow sent his opponent flying away and before he could fly more than five yards away, Maximus slammed both of his feet upon the Winter Shogun's back. He backed away from him and began to form an attack. Blue fire and lighting appeared between his hands in the shape of a ball.

"Heaven's Blaze!" Maximus shouted.

The attack shot out and the stream of blue fiery light stretched towards the Winter Shogun, engulfing him completely. The fire began to encircle around and twisted up before crashing down upon him again. The steam from the fires began to form a cloud and soon it dissipated. Maximus kept his focus where his foe was and waited for the result. The next moment the Winter Shogun walked out of the cloud, unfazed with no visible damage.

"This confirms you have resistance to magical attacks, what a foe you are turning out to be." He said to himself.

The next instant the Winter Shogun bolted towards him once more, this time with his sword sheathed. He appeared behind Maximus and performed the same attack Maximus did earlier. Before his strike could find its mark, Maximus blocked it with his left wrist.

"Are you trying to employ the same tactic I did upon you?" He said out loud.

Maximus quickly boosted his speed once more and squatted down a bit. Spinning on his left foot, he sent his right heel against his foe. The next instant the Winter Shogun stopped the strike by grabbing his ankle.

"His speed has increased again, what is he." Maximus said to himself.

Maximus quickly leaped up and motioned his body to bring his left leg around to strike at the Winter Shogun's head. He increased his speed once more and was able to strike his opponent. Hovering in the air, upside down, he launched a flurry of combos. After a few moments he landed on his hands and launched both feet upon the chest of his foe, kicking him with all of his might. The force sent the Winter Shogun far away towards the mountains.

"That's my cue to get out of here." Maximus said to himself.

Before he could leave, he noticed a stream of clouds barreling towards him.

"No way, how did he recover so fast?" He whispered with amazement.

The Winter Shogun appeared before him and soon disappeared.

"What?" Maximus said to himself.

The next second he felt a blunt blow against his chest and immediately fell to the ground.

"That was too fast, I didn't see it coming." He whispered and stood up to see his opponent waiting for him to stand. "Well, how incredibly polite of him to wait for me. I think it is safe to say he is capable of learning as this fight progresses. Which means, there is no defeating him at all." He said to himself and flinched in pain. "Not to mention I am stretching the timer on being away from my body. I have one last trick which will get him off my back when I make a break for it." He finished his thought.

The Winter Shogun charged after him once more and Maximus stood there with his arms open. Before the two could continue their fight, Maximus' soul disappeared. His foe looked around waiting for anything and after waiting nearly a minute, he saw Maximus was not coming back and decided to leave the area to return to his domain.

Meanwhile, just after the battle between Maximus and the Winter Shogun had ended, Maxwell and Lord Alderp had watched the fight take place.

"I have learned much from my new foe in the brief exposures with him, so much I can add to my collection of magical knowledge which I can employ. Soon I will have the perfect place for him to be unable to escape. It will be quite the showing when everything is ready, I do hope it is to his liking as well as yours master. I will also have to apologize for the long wait." Maxwell said with his gaze upon the image.

"Yes indeed, and do not worry about taking too long, I am sure it will quite the show. The only concern I will have is getting him. Trying to steal her, this Aqua, away from him is too obvious and he has proven to be around her at all times he is able to spare. Even when they are apart, he will have his familiars watching all who come too close to her." Alderp said placing his hand on his chin. "Wait, this could be to our advantage." He briefly whispered out, but loud enough for Maxwell to hear.

"How can this prove to be anything outside of a disadvantage for us?" He inquired.

"Think for a moment longer, slave." Alderp shot back and waited for him to think it through.

After a few moments, a thought popped in his head. "We could use any one of his other companions to lure him into the trap."

"Exactly, and I would go as far as to bet he would come for this one faster than the other one, outside of his precious Aqua that is." Alderp said with a grin forming on his face. "Oh, how delightful this will be once your Magical House is all set and ready for him." He began to laugh.

Meanwhile in the Heavenly Realm, Maximus noticed he was sitting in a chair in an awfully familiar place. Before him was the empty chair where both Aqua and Eris had sat in before. He felt disappointed and annoyed he did not get to employ his last trick and sighed.

"Great, I ran out of time." He said out loud.

"I am sorry I am late; I hope you did not wait too long," Eris shouted as she ran past him and sat upon the chair. "Now then let's," She stopped to finally notice Maximus sitting before her. "What are you doing here?" She inquired feeling surprised to see him.

"Seriously, I thought you deities keep a watchful eye on the world's you are watching over. Never mind, it's obvious why I am here; I died once more." He replied feeling disheartened at the thought of possibly going through the same torment to return back. "What will it be this time, my memories again, my powers, some years off my life span? What will be the toll for me to return?" He asked.

"Um, last time was a one time deal only, so I am sorry to say this but I cannot let you return." She said turning her gaze to the side.

"Oh. come on, surely Heaven can allow me this once more. Do you think it wise to leave one of your own unattended, now with all the new enemies I have gained?" He asked with a little anger.

She remained silent and did not want to look upon him.

"Well, it looks as though I will be sitting here until you give in." He said folding his arms.

The two sat there for several moments and Maximus decided to change the subject.

"By the way, where did you come from just now, I thought you would be waiting here for everyone who dies. Did you happen to sneak down to the Mortal Realm again?" He inquired.

"Yes, I was down there before you arrived." She responded, feeling a little ashamed.

"Geez, no wonder you are just a low-level Goddess." He said.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" She shouted at him.

"Just that you seem to be alright with neglecting your duties and breaking the rules of non-interference with the mortals of this world. I got the whole story from Aqua last time I asked her about you. These were the reasons you are at such a low level." He briefly explained.

"Did she tell you everything about me?" She asked looking down twiddling her thumbs and looked a little embarrassed about something.

"Everything that dealt with your situation and how you may never be able to advance to the next level." He shot back and noticed her discomfort. "What's wrong with you, you seem as though you are worried about something?" He inquired.

Before she could answer, Aqua's voice echoed throughout the voided room.

"Maximus, I cast the resurrection spell upon you, so you can go ahead and come back now." She informed him with a little cheer.

"Wait, are you serious, I can return without paying any price?" Maximus asked jumping up from his chair.

"Wait is that Lady Aqua's voice!" Eris said with distress.

"Yeah, all you got to do is come on back. By the way, you have some nerve dying on me like that. I will have you pay the price for it later!" She snapped at him.

Maximus began to laugh, feeling a sense of relief. "Do not worry, I am looking forward to it, I guess I now owe you one for this anyway." He said and turned to Eris. "Well, I guess this is it, I will be leaving now." He waved at her.

After a few moments he noticed nothing was happening and turned back.

"Hey, are you sure you cast the spell and not something else? Because I am still here, waiting to leave." He yelled up.

"I am sorry Maximus, but I cannot let you leave again. You have to return to your world, not this one." Eris informed him.

"Who is there with you, by the Gods I will come there myself if I have to, tell me who is there, why does your voice sound familiar?" Aqua raised her voice.

"It's Eris, she is telling me I cannot go back again." He responded.

"Eris, you mean that little stuck up twerp who thinks she is so great just because she has a big following and her own currency named after her here, that Eris!" Aqua said on the verge of screaming and feeling annoyed.

Eris was frightened by Aqua and began to move her hands over her ears.

"Whoa, she is actually scared of her. I know Aqua can have her moments of being intense, but this girl is downright terrified." He noticed and turned back. "Yeah, by the way you might want to tone it down a bit, you are scaring the poor girl."

"She better be, I am a high-level Goddess compared to her, so I won't have any lip from here about your situation. As for you Eris, if you do not let him return, I will tell everyone you pad your chest!" She ordered.

"Wait, what do you mean by pads?" Maximus asked, feeling confused.

"No, please do not tell everyone that, I will open the gate for him right away!" Eris begged.

"What do you two mean by pads? What are they?" He asked.

The next moment a blue circle appeared beneath him and he began to fear it at first, remembering how the last time went.

"Honestly, Lady Aqua can be so unreasonable." She mumbled out. "Oh, by the way, if you don't mind," Eris called out to him. "Please, keep this a secret." She gently pleaded and winked at him.

The next moment he was lifted away high into the air.

"What are pads?!" He shouted with curiosity.

The next instant he awoke within the front room of the castle next to the fireplace. The warm sensation of the fire heating his body. He felt the smooth soft skin of Aqua's thighs under his head and began to feel calm. His eyes slowly opened and saw her with a smile growing on her face.

"Maximus, you're awake, I am so glad you are back!" Aqua shouted with joy as she wrapped her arms upon his chest and leaned down to press her forehead on his. "By the way," She paused sitting up. "Don't you ever scare me like that again! It was hard seeing you as a corpse last time around! Promise me you will do nothing like that again!" She said with angry tears coming out of her eyes.

Maximus smiled a little as he raised his right hand to caress her cheek. "Yes, my Lady, I promise I will not do anything rash like that again." He promised her and she took hold of his hand.

"Good, you better keep that promise." She said as she flicked his forehead.

The two began to giggle a little when the other two entered the room.

"Maximus!" Both Darkness and Megumin shouted with cheer seeing him alive.

The next instant they both quickly embraced him as they were happy to see him return from the dead.

"Maximus, I must ask you, did you see anyone waiting for you on the other side?" Darkness inquired.

"Hey, why don't you two leave him alone and give him some much-needed space!" Aqua ordered.

"If I tell you, will you please get off me?" Maximus responded and Darkness eagerly nodded her head. "Yes, someone does wait for you on the other side on a chair and it is the Goddess Eris." He informed her.

"Oh, how wonderous, to see the Goddess Eris waiting for you on the other side would be a momentous occasion. I must see her face to face right now!" She shouted with disturbing joy.

Before she could go on, Maximus placed his right index finger on her forehead and made her lose consciousness.

"You can dream about away from me." Maximus said and moved her to the side.

Her limp body flopped to the side and he began to sit up as Megumin backed away to give him room.

"What did you do to her?" Both Aqua and Megumin inquired.

"I put her to sleep, she will awake by morning's first light." He replied and began to stand up and walked away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Aqua inquired.

"I am going to the baths to relax my whole body is still feeling the soreness from having it reunited with my soul." He briefly explained massaging his shoulders at the base of his neck.

"Hey, wait for me, I will join you." Aqua said and rushed after him.

"Wait, what about Darkness, what are we going to do with her?" Megumin asked.

"Leave her there, once we are done, I will wake her then we'll go get something to eat tonight and get the reward." He shouted back as Aqua and he made their way to the baths.

"We already got our rewards from the Guild, so there is no need to rush." Aqua informed him.

"Wait I was out that long?" He inquired feeling shocked to hear her inform him the time frame he was out.

"Uh huh," She briefly said and opened the door to the baths. "And now to repay me, you have to wash me every night from here on out." She informed him with her finger pointing at him.

"Somehow, I don't see that as a form of punishment." Maximus said feeling confused.

"You didn't let me finish, silly." She paused as she began to unbutton her top and briefly exposed a portion of her breast with her left hand over her nipple. Her right arm was raised up and caressed her forearm behind her head. She began to show a seductive smile on her face. "If you do a great job each night and handle my delicate skin with elegance and grace, I will let you make love to me again." She said with a sultry tone.

"Hmph," He smirked at her. "Then I gladly accept your punishment." He finished as the door closed behind him.


	28. Chapter 28

**A Part Time Job at Wiz' Shop: **

The next morning both Aqua and Maximus laid in bed after enjoying last night's hurrah which started in the baths and moved to their bedroom. The two laid within each other's embrace. Aqua laid her head on his chest and her legs around his waist. The small glimmer of light seeped through the small crack of the thick curtains hanging around their bed.

The next moment a loud explosion erupted upon the barrier that surrounded the castle. Both of them were not fazed by it as they knew all too well who was casting the spell. Megumin had made it an everyday chore to blast her spell upon the shield. She annoyingly convinced Maximus to allow her to cast explosion magic at the castle every day.

His eyes slowly opened up feeling his annoyance grow by the second. Aqua laid still not wanting to respond with her usual banter towards Megumin.

"Why does she always have to cast that stupid spell every morning, unless told we were heading on a quest?" Maximus asked out loud feeling annoyed as he slowly stretched his arms and legs.

"I am starting to feel as though you should have told her to cast explosion elsewhere." Aqua replied and tried to move but found her body from the waist down still feeling numb from last night. "Besides, I can barely move sleeping like this all night."

"Well, you should have moved off me after we were done." Maximus chuckled a little.

He moved his right hand on her lower back and used his magic to allow her nerves to flow through her legs and hips again.

She felt the tingling sensation within her body and she moved her legs to be straightened out, stretching them along with her arms. She yawned and repositioned herself to his side while still resting on his chest.

"So, what say you to the idea we stay in for today and we can wrap ourselves in each other's arms and be lazy for a change?" She asked drawing a circle on his chest and looked into his eyes.

"I like that idea, unfortunately I promised Wiz the other day I would help around with her shop. She said something on the lines of working part time through the winter will help us out. That way we will not have to go on any other quest unless we want to. Besides, we still need money to help us until spring arrives. Plus, I also promised to give her some pointers on running a shop I learned from my friend on my home world, although I feel as though it will not take." He informed her.

She felt angry after he told her what he was going to do and hugged him a little tighter. "I don't want you to go anywhere today, I wanted spend more time with you again, like the time we did on vacation, even if it was because we were on the run."

Maximus chuckled once more. "As I said earlier, I like the idea, however, a job's a job and we need money to pay off our debt. Not to mention, the Headman of the town is trying to say I owe property tax and what not. Which is a load of horse manure, because this castle does not even rest within the town's walls. How annoying that little twerp is turning out to be. Oh well, perhaps I can persuade him to leave that matter alone and never bring it up again." He said out loud as his mind trialed off for a moment.

"Alright," She pouted momentarily. "But I am coming with you. I might as well get a job there to bring in the customers." She said sitting up with excitement in her voice.

"Alright, just promise me you will behave when you are around her." He said knowing how last time went.

"Yes sir." She saluted to him and began to get ready.

The two later arrived after getting breakfast and entered the shop. The bell ringed to indicate their arrival and Wiz popped out from the back.

"Hello, welcome to my shop," She paused seeing the two and felt a little nervous with Aqua nearby. "Oh, you are here and you brought Lady Aqua as well."

"Yeah, she insisted on helping us gain some customers by handing out flyers once I have the right products which would help out more than the things you have." Maximus said as he looked around at all the merchandise. "I forgot how much stuff she has that's great to have but is totally useless for people in a town for new adventurers." He said to himself.

"So, what are we going to do with these items I have?" Wiz inquired looking at some of the items.

"For now, we will have to store them in the back or leave them out and replace them with the items, I know will be worthwhile. There are some I believe will be quite the turn out once I give some people a demonstration." He replied. "I should probably change it up a bit on the overall design and function. I will also need to come up with the necessary substitute which will help from having to manufacture too much product." He said to himself as the image of the first product came to mind. "Yes, that should do and we can start by selling it to the Kingdom first to gain a very profitable venture. I will need to find the right type of gem to act as a mana storage."

"Hey, Maximus, what's going on in that head of yours? Is there something you already have a plan for?" Aqua inquired after he had been silent for a few moments.

"Huh, oh, nothing is wrong I was in the middle of viewing out how the first product would appear and how successful it will be." He responded with a smile and winked at her. "I should come up with a few other things to add alongside that item, our debt will be erased for sure. On top of selling them these merchandise, I will have to train some of their men to know how to handle and operate them. From there they can in turn teach others. However, should I really go through with this, I mean, giving them these items will surely change the course of their way of life as they know it." He paused his thoughts once more.

"Hey, what are you thinking of, come on tell us." Aqua said tugging on his coat sleeve.

"I have a few ideas on the first round of items we can make quite a fortune with." Maximus replied.

"Oh, is it some type of item we can buy in mass to sell to customers?" Wiz inquired enthusiastically.

"There are some items we can go ahead and sell around town to get our finances in order and from there buy some much needed equipment. But first," He paused to snap his fingers and a tray of various potions appeared hovering in midair. "Aqua, I need you to take these and sell them to anyone at the Guild Hall or around town with me. These are various types of potions that can effect ones physical abilities I learned from the Arch-Wizard a while back. He told me about the various herbs needed to make these after I informed him how to effectively use mana consumption." He explained.

"Is this all we are going to do?" Aqua inquired.

Wiz walked up to him and looked at the various jars. "What can these potions due exactly?" She inquired as she curiously picked one up to look at them.

"Depending on which one you grab, they can increase a person's strength, stamina, speed, and refill ones mana supply. There are other types I will be working on in the future, but for now we will stick with these and use them as a sampler to get the ball rolling. By the way, for my previous venture, do any of you know anything about gemstones?" He asked.

"Now that you mention it, there used to be a gemstone mine not far from here, but it was shut down because a bunch of monsters invaded and now inhabit the mine. I do not recall what type though, but with someone like you I am positive they would give you no trouble at all." Wiz informed him.

"Well, we will have to go there once we sell these potions." He said.

"By the way, we should not invite Darkness or Megumin on that endeavor, considering Megumin has already cast her one spell a day and she could cause the cave to collapse on us. Not to mention Darkness would more than likely run away from the group and could get lost." Aqua said.

"You're right about that, we should leave them out of this one." He stopped and snapped his fingers and more potions appeared next to the counter. "This will be when we run out at the Guild and send others to you. They are all labeled and ready to go. Well, let us be off Aqua." He turned around and opened the door.

She nodded her head and they went about their day. The turnout at the Guild Hall was successful, more so than Maximus had originally anticipated. Aqua was holding the tray and calling out everyone to come try the new potions. He found out no one else was selling potions of these types and began to think about abandoning the next idea for a moment, but quickly dismissed the gesture.

The turnout was very profitable which yielded them a hefty amount of money. They were back at Wiz' shop not long after first arriving at the Guild Hall with more people behind them. Eventually, they were able to serve all those who initially turned out to buy some more. After they were sold out Aqua and Maximus left to visit the old gemstone mine.

Several hours passed and the two of them arrived at the entrance of the mine. They began to survey the area to investigate any clues at the entrance for what beast could be waiting for them inside. After seeing nothing which could indicate what wild animals were around, they began to head into the mountain.

"Are you sure it is a good idea to go in without first sending your familiars to clear the way?" Aqua asked him, standing at the opening of the mine.

"As good as that sounds, I will have to take a pass on that for the moment. I would like to have all my mana on hand at my disposal and not waste any. Besides, we could end up running into a foe that may require all my magical power. Plus, there is no need to worry about dangerous creatures harming you. As I said before, stay by my side and I will look after you. Now, let us proceed, if the type of gemstone I am hoping for is in here, we will soon not have to worry about our financial situation anymore." He said motioning her to join him.

"Okay." She said with a little fear in her voice. "By the way, what idea do you have for taking care of our debt?" She inquired, latching onto his right arm.

"What I have in mind is creating a new invention I had just thought of while at Wiz' shop. I will essentially create revolvers, rifles, and cannons to sell the Kingdom. Before I can do that, I first need to make some adjustments to the firearms. It may take some time to work out the functionality of everything, but if I can make it work without the use of gunpowder, it will be quite the transaction." He explained.

"Wait, I thought gunpowder is essential for firearms to work. How are you going to bypass that?" She asked to know a little more.

"Well, with the gemstone we are going to mine here, I may be able to use it as a substitute for the powder and bullet. I am still a little shady on the exact details, so I may have to do some trial and error runs. This could prove to be a slow take, but with the sales we will get from the potions, which I am surprised no one else has thought of that, we will still be okay money wise." He explained a little more.

The two continued down and when the light was barely visible, Maximus made a glowing orb appear to light the way. He kept the ball behind him so his vision would not be overwhelmed by the brightness in the dark cave.

After traveling for several minutes, a hissing growl echoed towards them. Aqua got behind him and ducked under his right arm. She squealed with fear and waited to see if something would appear.

"What was that, please tell me that was your stomach growling because you are hungry, right?" She asked shivering from the fear.

Maximus kept his gaze ahead, trying to guess what creature made the sound and readied himself for a confrontation.

"Why are you not answering,"

"Shh," He placed his hand over her mouth and kept concentrating on the sound from earlier.

The next moment he barely could hear the sound of small claws screeching and scratching upon the stone floor. She became more nervous as sweat was running down her face. The sound became louder by the second as it drew closer rapidly.

Maximus quickly took her in his arm and shot out the ball of light forward. The orb erupted its rays forth, blinding a small creature and it tripped over its own footing. The moment it came to a stop, he snapped his fingers and a stalactite stretched down from the ceiling, impaling the creature through the heart.

The small animal was visible under the light and Maximus was confused at what was before them. It had long white hair fashioned like a mohawk, with red catlike eyes, and mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. The skin was rough with small amount of scales on the back and sides, leaving its front torso with no hardened flesh. The ears were abnormally large and the claws on the hands and feet were long.

"What is this thing?" Maximus asked her as he walked up to it and inspect it a little more.

Aqua felt relieved when she saw it was dead and walked up behind him. "It is a Gremlin, a low-level demon that lives in cold dark caves or dungeons. They usually travel in packs, so we should be careful from here on out." She informed him.

"Agreed, no telling what else could be down here. I think it will be worth allowing a pack of my familiars to hunt down and slaughter whatever else is ahead of us." Maximus said.

He began to form magical familiars in the form of wolves and sent them forth. After waiting a few moments to give them a head start at hunting down all within, the two continued on. They both heard the sound of many Gremlins and other animals being overwhelmed.

After walking a little further, the pack of familiars stopped within a large chamber. The two caught up and saw the many glittering lights of gemstones upon the walls.

"Whoa, it almost looks like the night's sky in here." Aqua said feeling amazed at the sight.

Maximus had a small grin and wrapped his right arm around her, pressing his cheek against hers. "Aye, it sure does or an entirely new sky neither of us has ever seen."

After a few moments they returned to collecting and Maximus walked up to a wall closest to them. He snapped his fingers and the familiars disappeared.

"So, how are we going to collect these gemstones? I recall you not bringing a pickaxe, so how are you going to do it?" She inquired.

"Simple," He paused placing his hand on the stone wall and soon it began to melt away. "I will use my magic to have the wall be able to let the stone go by softening it up. From there I will be able to take it out of it. At the same time, I cast a spell in order to preserve the gemstone itself as to not damage it." He explained.

The next moment the gemstone floated out and took hold of it. He turned around and immediately noticed several pairs of eyes standing behind Aqua. She had not noticed them as she was still amazed by his use of magic.

"Huh, what is it?" She inquired and before she could say anything else another Gremlin jumped at her.

Before either of them could react, Maximus instantly appeared beside her with the gemstone falling to the ground. He took her in his left arm and held out his right.

"Heaven's Blaze!" He shouted.

The magical attack blasted forth engulfing the closest creature in front of him along with several others behind it. The whole ordeal happened within a split second; she was confused as to what happened until she saw the ash ridden floor. The burnt corpses littered the air with their smell and the two were having a hard time breathing.

"Ew, that stinks something fierce. Also, how come there was more of them, I thought your familiars cleared them out?" She asked as he let her down.

"I thought the same, there must have been a secret cavern that we passed. On top of that, my familiars only went into this chamber, there was other pathways to choose from. It is reasonable to guess they originated from one of them. Which means, we will have to be careful when exiting from this cave. Come, I got what is needed for now." He said taking hold of her hand.

"Okay." She said nodding her head.

They both made their way back to the entrance without any troubles and eventually back to their home. He sent a familiar to Wiz, informing her they were done for the day and will return the next with other items to possibly sell to people within town.

Maximus inspected the gemstone closely while sitting in the front room and Aqua sat there silently observing. Soon Darkness and Megumin arrived in time for dinner. When told about the little adventure within the mine the two had, both of them had different reactions. Darkness complained about not being there to act as a meat shield or unable to run after the Gremlins herself. Megumin was glad she was not pulled along for the little venture saying she would have been useless.

Maximus moved to another room he had made himself for a magical workshop. He used his magic to slice off a piece of the gemstone and formed it to a small ball, the size of a bean. He took a sample of metal he had bought a while ago, forming it into a shell casing to fit in a revolver. The small ball was placed at one end and extended into the shell and on the other side was only an opening.

"Now, if I made my best guess, this should act as a suitable primer substitute. I may need the hammer to have a sliver of the same gemstone. Both filled with mana will cause a spark inside the shell and to form into a concentrated mana bullet. From there, the reaction should shoot forth like a bullet. Now to give it a more proper test." He whispered out loud.

"What are you doing with that, what small device could come from this?" Darkness asked looking over his shoulder as her curiosity was past its limits.

"Shh, you should let him work, he is in the middle of constructing something which will get us out of debt." Aqua snapped at her. "Now, why don't the two of you help me out by fixing dinner while he works on this project."

"But I want to see what he is doing." Both Darkness and Megumin protested the idea.

"You should leave him alone, he needs to concentrate, now come on!" Aqua snapped at them and pushed them towards the kitchen to prepare dinner. "Don't you worry about cooking tonight Maximus, we got it all taken care of." She giggled.

Maximus placed his hand down after observing the first shell and sighed. "That is what I am afraid of, without me to watch over her, she is likely to burn down the whole castle like the last time. Not to mention, I have no idea what skill level the other two have for cooking, perhaps it's best to ensure no one burns the food."

He got up and helped out in the kitchen to Aqua's protest. The group finished preparing the meal and ate.

After dinner Maximus returned to his magical workshop and began to make a magical pistol. The others watched him carefully with awe as he took a large brick of metal and used his magic to form and carve it to the necessary form. They looked on in wonder as they saw the firearm was a curious and foreign design. It was an object they had never seen before and leaned a little closer to see it. The pistol had formed into a revolver with only a single chamber instead of the usual six chambered cylinder.

"Alright, now to test it out." Maximus said as he took hold of it and walked outside.

The others followed him closely and once outside he used his magic to conjure up a target post five yards away. He placed the shell in the slot and maneuvered it to lock in place.

"You all might want to cover your ears." He told them in a commanding voice and they followed without question.

He raised it up to aim at the post and pulled on the trigger. The next instant the revolver's barrel exploded, splitting apart into four pieces, each had bent backwards.

"There is too much power within these pieces, I will need to make them smaller for a revolver such as this one. I wonder if this will be alright for a rifle, not to mention I will need to make the right calculations for cannons. This may take a lot longer than I first anticipated, however, with a little more trial and error, I can get through it. I may need some more gemstones when the time comes. I think I will have my familiars dig them out. Also, I wonder if I can essentially use the Mirror Reality as a way to have an unlimited supply of things. This will warrant an investigation, but it should since it is a copy of reality itself. Even if it is not able to, I still have plenty of materials to work with." He said to himself looking at the damaged firearm.

"Maximus are you okay?" Aqua inquired running up to him after they noticed it was over.

"There is nothing to fear, I am alright. However, I cannot say the same with this." He said briefly turning to her before returning his gaze upon the pistol.

"What sort of item did you just create?" Darkness inquired.

"Something which will change things, either for the worse or the best or both, time will tell when I get the right measurements." He replied.

"It sure does not look all that amazing. I will say it has a loud ring to it, but nothing else is impressive about it." Megumin said, feeling unimpressed.

"Well, it was my first attempt to create this type of firearm that uses gemstones, so, bear with me as I perfect the overall design and function. Plus, I figured it would be a better idea than using more metal to use as bullets which are projectiles that can strike an opponent to certain distances. Anyway, let us all turn in for the night and see what quests we could take on the morrow." He said turning around to head inside.

They all nodded in agreement and followed after him.

Later on, Aqua and Maximus were lying in bed and she had the failed demonstration he was doing earlier on her mind.

"By the way, I wonder if it's a good idea you are creating something that is beyond this world's capabilities to handle and ultimately accelerate their understanding of technology." She said looking up.

"Changes come for every world, good or bad is decided upon one's own view. Besides, it might help the Kingdom in the long run." He responded.

"But what if you end up creating a tyrannical state?" She quickly asked.

"Relax, I will have failsafe built into these weapons I am creating. Since the gemstones all have mana within them, all I have to do is cast Anti-Magic and they would cease to function. I do not think only one step ahead at any given time. I always try to think up to ten steps ahead like I always tell you to do." He stopped to yawn. "Now, let us rest the night away and welcome tomorrow's first light." He said kissing her forehead.

"If you say so." She said closing her eyes and the two were fast to sleep.


	29. Chapter 29

**Maxwell's Trap:**

Two weeks have passed since his first experiment with magical firearms were beginning to be developed and Maximus was once again standing before a wooden target. He pulled the trigger upon the pistol and it fired properly. The target received a hole the size of a large ball, nearly eight inches in diameter. He was pleased the barrel did not break apart; however, he was frowning at the sight of the noticeable cracks stretching down its entirety.

"The metal I have is not providing any real resistance to the power output. I need something that is a lot sturdier. I may have to resort on casting a spell upon the metal to make it durable, far more than normal which could solve that problem until I find better metal. Or perhaps should look into the overall design again. I may have to bypass the idea of magical pistols and move to only rifles instead. Which reminds me," He paused for a moment to pick up a newly constructed rifle, much like the single fired ones back home, and fired at another target.

The recoil was like a mule's kick, rocking his shoulder. The target was completely destroyed along with a larger hole in the wall behind it. He was pleased the rifle's barrel did not break apart and began to inspect it more.

"The recoil is about the same as the rifles back home, it seems the output is not so bad for this rifle, however once again the metal is heating up too much. The next shot may as well damage it far beyond repair. Which means, the natural mana in the gemstone is causing the output to be too much or the metal in this region is too weak. The spell to increase durability would only last a short time. I wonder if it would best to go with projectiles instead of magical shots after these past experiments." He whispered out.

He grabbed the firearms and went back into his workshop to set them down. He used his magic to repair the pistol and sat on his chair looking forward, zoning out as he tried to think of a way around the problem.

The next moment Aqua strolled past and noticed he was inside the castle. She was wearing only a short sky-blue bath robe and walked in, wrapping her arms around him.

"Are you finally done with today's experiments?" She whispered into his ear. "Because I was hoping you and I could just take it easy today. I want your "special touch" you do every time we get the chance." She finished with a seductive tone and her hand caressing his chest.

"That actually might be a good idea right now in order to get my mind off this. Maybe after we are done, I can see about finishing this up." He said with a smirk on his face.

She quickly placed a finger on his lips before he could go on. "Oh no you don't, the day is still incredibly young and since I convinced both Darkness and Megumin to leave for the day, I have you all to myself again. You and I are going to take the entire day off from all work, got that."

He took hold of her hand and stood up. "Are you sure you are not the Goddess of Temptation instead of being one of Water. Because you sure know how to be a temptress lately."

The two giggled a little and began to move up toward their room and when they entered began to kiss each other. She back peddled towards the bed, pulling him along and was soon lying down upon it. He took his coat off and threw it to the side. Aqua moved her hand down to remove the robe and leaned up to kiss him once more.

The moment she was about to be undressed, the crystal cube on the nightstand echoed with Wiz' voice calling out. "Maximus, there is a request for you to take a job for a lord at the Guild Hall."

Both of them were displeased they were interrupted from what they were about to do and Aqua became furious.

"Why do you have to interrupt us now of all the other times you could have done so, but no, you have to do it now?!" She shouted as she leaped to the crystal cube and took hold of it.

Maximus could not help but laugh a little as he sat down on the bed listening to Aqua's continued complaints. He stood up to walk over and took hold of the cube from Aqua's hands.

"Can it not wait until tomorrow?" He asked in a complaining manner. "Because me and Aqua were in the middle of something important."

"I am sorry, but the request was meant to be finished by the end of the day and he specifically asked you two to come right this moment." Wiz said feeling bad for interrupting his day off.

He sighed to relieve himself of his annoyance along with beginning to be aroused with Aqua. "Very well, he better pay me a handsome sum for this one on my day off."

Aqua began to be upset with him and had a pouty face. "Hmph."

"He was stated earlier he would pay at least ten million for your services." Wiz added.

"Ten million!" Both Aqua and Maximus shouted, feeling surprised by the amount offered.

"Well, since he is offering that much, I see no reason why we cannot aid him at this time." Aqua said with excitement and snapped her fingers to change into her regular attire. She had learned another spell from Maximus she thought would be useful. "Well, I am already to go."

"Well, I am glad one of us is one-hundred percent all for this little assignment." He said to himself. "Alright Wiz, the two of us will be at the Guild shortly." He said and waved his hand over the cube to turn it off.

Aqua joyfully took hold of his right arm and waited for him to transport themselves to the Guild Hall. He held his hand out and his coat floated into its grasp. After putting it on he held his hand up and snapped his fingers. The next moment the two of them teleported before the Quest Board. Once there, they approached the desk where Luna seemed to wait for their arrival.

"Oh, you two have arrived for the request to capture some thieves Wiz had informed me about a few moments ago." Luna said reaching for an envelope to her right. "The owner of the mansion wasn't able to be here because he is in the capitol and sent this letter to the Guild Hall. Within it will be the instructions on what you are guarding along with the key to the place." She informed them and handed the envelope to Maximus.

He was a little displeased there was no insignia or crest stamped on the back.

"How odd it would not have a seal with a crest on the back or extravagant calligraphy a nobleman would use to indicate its origin." He said to himself.

He began to open the envelope and noticed strange writing on the inside with no letter.

"Well, this is odd." He said out loud.

Before anyone could inquire of the envelope, he saw black streams of mist racing out from the key and writing, stretching up to him. Maximus instantly tried to push Aqua away but was unsuccessful. The streams reached forth like arms twisting around the two of them.

"What's going on?" Luna shouted with concern.

The mist formed fully around the two and began to suck them into the parchment. Maximus and Aqua found themselves inside a whirlwind twirling around as though they were in a twister and the vacuum pulled them downward. The wind howling against their ears, making them ring loudly.

"Maximus!" Aqua screamed in fear with her hand stretching for him.

Maximus tried to fly towards her but was unable to control his path. He reached out with his hand and the next moment teleported right beside her. He wrapped his arms around her tight, afraid to let go should the worst happen to them as they continued to descend downward the never-ending funnel.

On the outside, everyone could only see the dark fog begin to retract into the envelope until nothing more of it remained. The parchment closed in on itself and within the same moment turned to ash.

"What just happened to them?" Mohawk asked out loud.

"I am not sure, but I hope they are alright." Luna responded.

Meanwhile, Aqua and Maximus saw a light begin to shine within the semi dark funnel. The brightness became brighter as they noticed they were descending closer to it.

"What's that light and where does it lead?" She asked wanting to look away for fear of the worst possible outcome she could conjure in her mind.

"I am hoping it leads us to an end of this ride, because the winds within this twister feel as though they are picking up speed." He replied feeling the wind begin to press itself harder against him.

He quickly wrapped her within his long trench coat in an attempt to shield her from the brunt of the winds.

Aqua took hold of his face and looked into his eyes. "If the worst should happen, I want to say something very important to you and that's,"

Before she could finish the two were shot into the light. On the other side the dark funnel formed over the mansion and they both saw their destination. Maximus was able to regain control of his descent and slowly landed before the door of the domicile.

"Now then, you were about to say something important. What was it may I ask?" Maximus inquired as he moved the coat from her and soon noticed the dizzy look in her eyes. "Never mind, you can tell me later."

Aqua leaned against him for support as to not fall upon the ground as they stood there for several moments. She was beginning to have a nauseous feeling to vomit and leaned over to the side. She then puked out a stream of white fluid with rainbow colors within it. Maximus rubbed her back and began to survey the area and noticed they were on the outer edge of town a short distance to the wall, but far enough to see the open fields surrounding the place.

"I know this place; it was a home I was almost considered relieving some lord of when winter was beginning to rear its freezing embrace." He said after recognizing the mansion.

"Were you really considering such a thing?" Aqua asked and began to walk up to the door and before she could take a second step towards it Maximus took hold of her hand. "What is it, do you not want to check it out?" She inquired and soon noticed the look on his face was one of concern and being on guard.

"Hold on, don't you think we should see if we are in our reality or not before we continue?" He said and pulled her back.

He used his magic to create familiars to circle around.

"Isn't it a little strange for us to be brought here and not once has anyone yet to appear from the mansion to welcome or give us an explanation as to why we were transported in a way to here. I don't like the feeling of that at all." He said.

"Well, now that you mention it, I do find it odd no one seems to be around at all." She said looking around and turned back to him. "Do you think it could be a trick or a trap by, what is his name again, oh yeah, Maxwell?" She inquired sticking as close to him as possible.

"I wouldn't put it past him; besides, I had thought those two would make another move again. It is just I was expecting them to try a desperate direct confrontation with us this time around. That was only because I do not know too much about them, however I am learning rather quickly they would still stick to tricks instead of the impatient route. I will give them that much credit, they are very patient over these past weeks." He said and stopped to look at the mansion. "I cannot afford to be wrong about a hunch I have had since we were engulfed by that black fog."

He raised his left hand and fired a fireball at the mansion before the two of them. The blast went into the domicile and erupted from within. The windows shattered apart and the whole house violently quaked. Cracks spread across its entirety and soon after began to crumble in on itself.

The next moment an ominous laughter echoed across the sky belonging to Maxwell.

"Excellent work Maximus, I knew you would not be so inclined to enter any place within this reality I have created just for you. I also see you have your lover right beside you, an unexpected variable, but a welcome one no doubt. I wonder if you can keep a sharp eye on her and all that is around you. Do take care to watch what you open in this little reality of mine; you never know what could be behind any door in here. I must thank you for aiding me without your knowledge in previous encounters and observing you. I would not have thought to create such an extravagant realm for the two of you to spend the rest of eternity here. Although, you would more than likely starve to death as your resources are quite limited. Well, I shall leave the two of you to your own devices and do not worry about your friends as we will take great care of them." Maxwell laughed as his voice echoed away.

"Well played." Maximus said feeling a little impressed as he stood there looking up at the sky.

"What are we going to do, how are we going to get out of here? Please tell me we aren't going to starve in this place!" Aqua began to panic.

"Aqua, get a hold of yourself," He said grabbing her shoulders to get her attention before her panicking nature took full effect. "I know this is going to be a lot to take in right now, however we cannot lose focus all because we might be stuck here a while. Believe it or not, he actually gave me a clue as to where we are exactly." He said and looked around once more.

"What do you mean by that?" She inquired.

"He said we were within a reality he created, essentially, meaning he used a Mirror Reality spell in conjunction with other spells and magical traps which are certainly about. So, if he has created this than that means there will be a way out of here. We just have to find the source or the conduit that is breathing life into this place and there lies our first task. We need to find out where it is and fast, because there is no telling what sort of beings are lurking about within this place." He said and the two walked into town.

"So, why are we heading into town, don't you think we should head somewhere safe?" She asked looking up at him.

Before he could answer the two heard the ruffling sound of something moving within the brush next to the trail. She flinched in fear and wrapped herself within his coat as he stretched his right arm towards the sound. The echoing of the tall grass shaking grew closer and they saw them move or bend over as the unknown thing approached. Once it was a few feet from the trail they were on, it stopped and Aqua moved the coat down to peek out.

"What could it be, you don't think it's a Gremlin or something worse, do you?" She asked as her legs were shaking.

Maximus kept his gaze towards the sound's last known location and at the same time tried to use his ears to hear anything else that might be around.

"Uh, Maximus,"

Before she could inquire further, a small rat jumped out of the tall grass and looked around and turned to them. The rodent stood on its hind legs and used his front paws to scratch its face. After briefly cleaning itself, it moved towards them.

"Well, it's not something horrible of terrifying like I thought it was, so I guess this is better than something else." She said and began to come out from under his coat and walked towards it. "To think you actually scared a high-level Goddess such as I,"

Before she could finish a fireball engulfed the rat before she could get too close. The animal was set ablaze and ran into the field, screeching and crying out in pain.

"What did you do that for, it was only a harmless creature, even if it is a disgusting one." She snapped at him.

"If you can sense danger that way I can, you would not be saying that right now. Besides, that rodent is still alive and," He paused for a moment as the rat grew in size.

The giant rat stood nearly ten feet tall and five feet longer than its height. The fur on it was scorched off revealing a scaly skin underneath. The tail formed a blade at the end like a spearhead. Its body was lean yet muscular and took a step towards them and roared loud and long.

"Did that little thing turn into a dragon?" Aqua asked, terrified so much she could not move a muscle.

"No, it seems mutated in some way that would benefit itself for the moment." He replied and instantly bolted past and appeared back by Aqua's side.

The Giant Rat was split open down the middle and fell to the ground.

"I honestly thought it would have been harder to defeat. I guess depending on what it once was can only provide certain boosts. This means we will need to be extra careful from here on out. We cannot afford to engage too much as to conserve our mana." Maximus said what he was thinking.

"Do you think there is more than that little guy wandering around here or anywhere?" She asked as she looked around scared of the idea of what might pop out next.

"I would count on it, there is most likely multiple types of beasts waiting for us behind every corner. I could use Anti-Magic to cancel everything out, however, without knowing where the source is, I cannot just go blindly casting it upon everything. I would wager it is protected or hidden somewhere in a place we would have to explore. This means taking the chance of going through every house and building until we find it. This will come at high risks as behind every door, I imagine there will be some kind of surprise waiting for us. So, I need you to be on your guard at all times while we are here." He said as he began to walk towards town once more.

"So, will we be able to get out of here?" She asked walking beside him.

"We will get out of here, make no mistake about that and once we do, I will pay our friends, Lord Alderp and Maxwell a little visit. When that happens, I will make them both regret the day they were ever born into this world." He replied with a angry glare in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Lord Alderp was impressed with the way Maxwell had performed his latest accomplishments.

"I must say, posing as the lord of that house to drop the envelope off at the Guild was by far a noteworthy deed. On top of that, you made sure he would open it without suspecting any magical trace upon it. I must say writing those spells down to ensure he would be captured and transported to your little "World of Horrors" was impressive. I was a little disappointed you did not trap them into a house, but when you came up with the idea of something bigger like a reality of sorts you had learned from him in one of his previous encounter with the giant serpent, that was a better idea. Now he has more chances of falling further into your trap than he would have if it was just a house. This will be entertaining to watch how he gets out and along for the ride is his lover. I wonder if he can protect her and himself in some of the situations you have planned." Lord Alderp began to chuckle and took a swig of wine in his hand.

"His other companions should be there shortly along with the other two we have captured, who have been in there the longest. I wonder how those two have fared ever since they tried to steal from us the other day?" Maxwell said and soon a thought popped in his head. "I do hope the source is not founded by any of them, otherwise this will not end well for us. I may have to enter here and there to move it should they get too close. I am still not familiar with this Mirror Reality spell, but what I have discovered thus far it does have certain rules it must follow. Well, in the meantime, let us see how things play out." He said to himself.


	30. Chapter 30

**World of Horrors:**

Aqua and Maximus were standing before the door of the first house they walked up to. His hand stretched forth halfway between him and the knob, wondering if he should dare to open the first possible trap.

Aqua noticed the small amount of fear in his eyes as she wondered if he was going to open the door or not. "Are you going to open it or just stare at it all day long? We don't have too much time to spare right now." She said and looked down with her hand over her stomach.

"I know the stakes involving our situation, I'm just trying to ready myself for what possibly could be behind this door. That involves being in the right mind set and since I have to account for you being here, this will prove difficult for me as I do not have much experience in dealing with potential monsters or traps combined with looking out for someone. Now then, let us see if we can find the source of this reality to be on a continuous activation. I would bet the caster of this spell is not in here and is using something to cause mana to flow into it. But that would mean they have a time limit as well. Unless they have an infinite supply to keep this going." He explained to her.

His hand took hold and turned it over. After a few moments he noticed nothing had activated or sprung after them. He took his hand off the knob and kicked it wide open. The door slammed against the wall to the side and he quickly took hold of Aqua in his left arm to back away, expecting something to happen. His right hand stretched out with a fireball ready to launch upon any foe that could come their way.

"Uh, Maximus, what are you,"

"Shh." He snapped at her to keep her quiet as he remained focus on the door and used his senses to see if anything outside was moving towards them.

A few moments went by and nothing had been activated along with no creature sprung from behind any of the buildings to attack.

"No, that is giving him too much or too little credit for a first trap and considering this entire town or Mirror Reality is a dungeon, it would make more sense to give one a false hope of relief. Besides, traps do not have to be the house itself, it can be anything inside as well. Still, best to be ready for anything." He said what was on his mind out loud.

He gently sat her down and she remained quiet, not to disturb him and looked around. She turned back to the house they were about to enter and soon her sense of smell was beginning to go off.

"Hold on a second, I think I smell something rotten, like a,"

Before she could finish what, she was saying, a pack of undead corpses exited through the threshold of the house with all haste. They flooded out like a heavy stream of rushing water that caused the walls around the house to collapse under the pressure they were putting on it. Soon after more of them burst through the bricks.

Maximus quickly took hold of her once more, jumping high in the air and back towards the open field. Aqua began to scream and cry out, remembering the last time she was chased by an undead horde.

"Please, don't let them get anywhere near me, I don't want to die by them!" She shouted with tears rushing out of her eyes.

The two landed near the outskirts of town and readied his spell.

"Heaven's Blaze!" He shouted and the magical attack spring from his hand and immediately engulfed the numerous horde running after them.

Everyone of them were immediately turned to ash and once it was over, he noticed more were pouring out of the house they had first opened.

"So, it must be something within that house that is conjuring up these fiends or the house itself is the culprit for this one." He said to himself.

Jumping up into the air once more and still holding onto Aqua, they hovered over the house. The undead were gathering underneath them and soon began to pile onto each other. The two noticed they were making a makeshift tower of bodies to reach them.

Maximus held his hand above them to form a ball of energy that was the size of a large ball. Once enough was gathered he threw it down upon the house and it was immediately engulfed. Everything within it was destroyed and soon the undead horde began to turn to dust and floated away.

"Thought so." He said out loud.

"What do you mean by that?" She inquired.

"Well, that house or something within was being used to summon the endless wave of undead upon us. I am guessing more so the entire house was the culprit since nothing else was touched after kicking the door in." He briefly explained.

"So, why not just blow up every building in here? Maybe then we could be set free." She said in a cheerful manner.

"Bad idea, what if one of the houses is or has something that could crumble everything upon us. Or unleash an explosion that could easily wipe us out. We need to be careful; traps are not our only concern while being within this place. We need to be more tactful than that, try thinking things through a little more next time, even if it is almost impossible for you to do." He replied. "I, without a doubt, am going to have to make sure to watch what she does in here. Who knows what she might actually accidently unleash? A lot of oversight indeed for this situation." He said to himself.

The two began to slowly walk down the street, keeping a watch for anything. Several of Maximus' familiars returned with information about the area. Each of them fed all notable interests into his mind. Aqua saw the large birds land on his shoulder and a few moments later take flight around town.

"So, anything useful they may have found yet?" She curiously inquired. "It is so amazing how he could do all of that. Having familiars be used for not only fighting, but also scouting around." She said to herself waiting for his reply.

Maximus was finished with the last familiar and turned to her. "Nothing as of yet, but there has been evidence of a struggle not far from us."

"Really, someone else is in here! I wonder who else could have been sent to this place. I thought only you made Lord Alderp mad enough to send his lacky to capture us. And to think this beautiful and innocent Goddess was caught in the middle of your grudge match with him. That is a bit shameful for you to do and allow to happen to me, just so you know. You will pay dearly for this when we get out of this place." She said giggling to cheer him up from his frowning face.

"Well, my lady, I guess I have no choice but to make it up to you someway in the future." He stopped for a moment to put his right arm around her with his left arm pointing out in front of them. "Maybe when this is over the two of us can just call it quits, as in no more adventuring at all. Maybe we can acquire Lord Alderp's assets and money to payoff our debt and move back to the resort town. What say you to that idea?" He inquired.

"But what about the whole idea with those firearms you been working on?" She inquired.

"I may wrap that up once I find the right kind of metal or just bypass the whole gemstone attachment to activate them. But then I would need to find out where the right materials for gunpowder are in this world. That is if this world even has those materials. But we will cross that bridge after getting out of here. Plus, we need to see who else is here not far, up ahead to be exact." He replied keeping his gaze upon her and she nodded.

"Alright, but I want to stay living in the castle of ours. Maybe we can convince Darkness and Megumin to leave too. I want no distractions from your attention to me at night, you got that?" She said with her finger pointing at him.

"It's a deal then." He smiled back at her and turned to look forward. "Now, to see about who is within this place, be on your guard." He instructed.

"Yes sir." She said cheerfully.

The two rounded the corner and looked down where the marketplace was and saw a frightening sight. Glancing down the street, they saw webbing crisscrossing to either side and scaled up the buildings. They also saw several handfuls of what they could only guess to be people who had been wrapped up within the webs. Some were ripped open, showing the decaying corpse of the unfortunate souls who became prey.

Aqua turned away, horrified by the sight she beheld and was starting to panic, thinking she would suffer the same fate. Maximus moved his right arm across her back, feeling the quaking state her body was in.

"Poor fellows, I wonder who they were and how they got here? Maxwell must have used prisoners they have captured or gathered some unfortunate souls who were possibly within the jails from the Kingdom. They may have taken the downtrodden homeless people from there too. Using them as test subjects to practice his "World of Horrors" and fill it with all manner of creatures he could capture. At least, that is what I would do if I were in his position. If he has arachnids within this place, then there is no telling what else could have been caught by him. What a disturbing individual this Maxwell is turning out to be." He said to himself.

The next moment he felt an uneasy feeling along with a familiar presence. The hairs on the back of his neck were starting to stand up as if his six sense were screaming at him to move quickly.

Maximus instantly teleported the two of them to a nearby roof which overlooked the entrance to the webbed marketplace. He looked down and saw nothing out of the ordinary. The next instant he saw a pair of slashing marks, as though something was embedding into the road. The second after he heard a screeching sound from a large creature. The sound was all too familiar to him. It was the sound of a Giant Arachnid reacting to the pain its fangs endured hitting against the stone road.

To his surprise and disbelief, he did not see anything down below on the street. Aqua was about to cry out when he placed his hand over her mouth and motioned his finger over his lips. He instantly used his magic and looked down below to see the arachnid twist and turned to look for its prey.

"Brilliant, not only are there Giant Arachnids, but they are invisible as well, pesky creatures." His body shivered as the thought of being caught by one interrupted what he was thinking. "If I had it my way, they all would burn in the fires of Hell itself just so I can live in peace without the thought of having one crawl on me, no matter how big or small they are." He finished his thought.

"What's going on down there, what was making that scary noise just now?" Aqua whispered to him as her body was quaking from the sound.

"It's a Giant Arachnid that is somehow invisible, though considering Maxwell's knowledge of magic, and I am sure it is extensive, he may have made them be that way. Or given them the gift of active camouflage. Making themselves blend in with the area even when moving. This would be a perfect place to hide the source of this spell or the conduit for it. At least, I would think so." He said as he watched the arachnid climb its way back up the building to the right of the marketplace.

"Then why not obliterate the entire area and be done with it?" She asked.

"I would, however, there are still two people alive down there. I need to see if they are infected with their venom first before writing them off and engulfing the entire place with one of my spells." He said.

The next moment he sent his familiar upon the creature at high speeds. The bird activated a spell to allow its body to be hard as steel. The next moment it cleaved the arachnid in two and it fell back towards the ground.

Aqua was able to see it the moment after being cleaved and her fear of it grew ever more. She quickly latched onto Maximus as he maintained his composure. He moved his hands up to lift the two pieces of its body off the ground. After it was motioned to be in front of the entrance, he noticed smaller arachnids dropping out of it. The moment they hit the ground they almost instantly folded their legs inward, dying.

"Must have not been the time for those to be born yet, oh well, less of a nuisance they will be in the future." He said to himself.

The next moment he snapped his fingers and fire momentarily burst upon the two body parts. He moved one of them on the other side of the market via teleportation and moved his hands together. The large fireballs moved in sync with his hands and met in the middle of the street.

The flames consumed the webbing lines as he used his magic to ensure the last two people within were not harmed. The fires zigged zagged to and fro all the while catching other of the large arachnids on fire. Each of them scurried around, frantically, until their brains were consumed and they died after a few moments. The thick smoke pillars rose high above the town from their bodies, causing the sky to be littered with its darkness. Maximus began to wonder if he made a bad decision as he studied the cloud formation. The two of them sensed something ominous within it and wondered what it could turn out to be.

"I do not like the feel of this." He said as a terrible feeling came over him while keeping his eyes up.

"This is where I come in," Aqua said confidently and stepped in front of him. "Sacred Dispel!" She shouted and a ray of magical light shot forth upon the cloud.

The next moment it collided with the dark mass and soon he noticed it began to shrink until there was nothing left of it at all.

"That's what I thought, I knew it was filled to the brim of dark magic and used my spell to cancel it out." She said with a smirk and clapped her hands together to dust them off. She quickly turned around to look at Maximus. "Well, what did you think, I am not so helpless all the time and I also have my uses too." She said resting her fists on her hips.

Maximus cracked a half smile and tilted his head to the side, chuckling a little. "Funny how you were scared to death over that thing becoming visible, but when you dispelled the black cloud, you showed you are capable of taking on something a little scary. You are an interesting person to say the least." He said and walked up to her.

The moment they were about to embrace each other, he saw another Giant Arachnid jump up behind her. He quickly snapped his fingers and an explosion erupted within the creature. The moment after, she was showered in its slushy substance. Her body flinched in disgust and soon began to cry out.

"Why did you have to do that, why couldn't you just send that creature up in the sky. Now I am covered in its slimy insides, ruined for all to see once again." She fell to her knees, crying her eyes out.

He quickly cancelled the magic upon his eyes and walked up to her. "Pardon me for saving your life once again, and oh, by the way, you are welcome for that." He said sighing with a little frustration. "Here," He stopped to snap his fingers and the next instant warmer water came rushing down over her head to wash the nasty substance away. "Now the innards of the arachnid have been rinsed off of you. Also, you are welcome for that as well." He said with a little attitude and conjured up a towel to put on her head.

He saw her sad face morph into an upset one and growled at him a little. "Why did you have to do that, this is no way to treat a beautiful Goddess such as my self in this way." She snapped at him.

"Well, at least I did not use ice cold water to make it stick to you a lot more." He shot back walking towards the presence of the last two people who were still alive, but barely. "Now, we should look into who is within that area and inquire as to why they are even here." He finished, turning around to notice she had unbuttoned and took off her vest. Her upper body was exposed and she began to twist her top to rinse the excess water out of it. "Do you really need to do that now? Someone's life could be at stake and you are just standing here drying off your clothing." He said feeling annoyed as she ignored him.

After getting much of the water out, she placed her vest back on. "There, now that will be a little more comfortable. Okay, I am ready to go." She said enthusiastically and skipped over to be at his side. "Waiting on you now, dearie." She finished with a smile on her face.

He sighed and the two were teleported before the marketplace within the next instant. They began to walk down the street, looking around every corner. After a few moments, he sensed where the two presences were at. The two turned down an alleyway until they saw two lumps of wrapped up figures. They dashed over and began to open them up to reveal two familiar individuals.

"Chris, Kazuma, what are the two of you doing here?" Aqua asked and soon noticed they did not answer.

Maximus noticed they seemed asleep yet had an uncomfortable look on their faces.

Chris could hear the voices of Aqua and Maximus ring in her ears. She slowly opened her eyes to look up and wondered if it was a dream. Maximus saw her eyes open for just a moment and placed the back side of his hand on her forehead.

"She has a high fever; I believe the two of them may be poisoned by the venom of those arachnids. We have to hurry, there is not much time we can spare." He said with urgency as the heat from her head was still present on his hand.

Chris could feel the sensation of his hand on her head and struggled to open her eyes once more. "Maximus, help us." She struggled to speak.

Maximus used his Analysis spell to see how bad off she was and noticed there was only moments before her life would expire. He used his healing magic to isolate the venom and caused her body to sweat it out rapidly along with Aqua's healing spell. He looked over to Kazuma and saw he was mere inches away from passing on. The two used the same healing magic upon him as well and waited to see if they would awake after several minutes.

"Do you think we got to them in time?" Aqua asked feeling concerned for the two.

"Only time will tell and depends on how strong their will to live is. I have removed the venom from them along with your healing spell, but their bodies may have gone too long without treatment to know for sure. Plus, I am unfamiliar with the arachnids of this world, so I do not know how potent their poison is." He answered while standing a few feet away.

The next moment the two of them heard the coughing of Chris and Kazuma as they awoke. They turned around and noticed their weakened state was still loaming over them. Chris slowly sat up and noticed Maximus and Aqua looking at them.

"If you are wondering about whether or not you are still in the trapped world Maxwell put you in, you are." He said before she could ask any question. "That's a bold thing you two did for us several weeks back. Trying to disrupt the plans and steal from Lord Alderp was a brave act. I can tell you were not expecting a Duke of Hell to be waiting for the two of you. Also, yes, I read Kazuma's mind to find out how you both got here since I was unable to read your mind." He continued as he remembered trying to look into her mind and was blinded mentally by a bright light. "I can guess Aqua would be the same with that whole mental block the two have. That is quite the neat trick, at least I won't have to worry about the two of them being under a mind control spell." He said to himself.

"Well, I guess there is no sense in explaining everything to you then is there?" Chris inquired.

"No," Maximus replied shaking his head to the sides. "Even so, there would have been no time to do so in the first place. We need to get out of here before the mana supply or some unknown timer runs out or we end up falling prey to whatever else is in here. Do you have any clues or possibly came across something out of the ordinary?" He inquired.

"Unfortunately, no, not long after arriving we were caught by those things. I get the feeling we may never get out of here." She said curling up in the fetal position and buried her head upon her knees.

"What are you saying?!" Aqua snapped at her and took hold of Chris' scarf. "How dare you lose hope like that, especially when Maximus is here with us. Just so you know, he knows all kinds of magic most people have only dreamed of doing or have not even thought of. So of course, we can get out with him by our side." She finished shouting as she let her go and stood next to Maximus. "Isn't that right?"

He nodded his head. "There is a way out, however, we must find something where there is a huge source of magic. Problem is with this whole town as a collection of random death traps, ready to spring upon us once active, we could be searching for some time before finding it. Also, that means taking very precautious and unsafe risks to get out of here. Let us hope we can find it before we run out of time." He said and turned around to head out of the alleyway.

"Where are you going?" Kazuma asked feeling dizzy.

"You three wait here for now, while you two were recovering, I set up my own traps and familiars to watch over the area. You are safer here than by my side from this point on." He stopped to turn around towards them. "Besides, Maxwell wanted it that way to begin with. Do not fret too much Aqua, I am only going to look around for a few moments. I will return shortly once those two have some time to regain themselves." He said and began to walk out of the marketplace.

"You better come back to me and do not take too long to do it either, okay." She ordered him.

He continued waving back at her and quickly gave her a thumbs up and a smile.


	31. Chapter 31

Spell of Torment:

Nearly ten minutes went by and Aqua began to worry about Maximus' safety along with hers. She stood glancing down at the street, wondering, fearing if there might have been some of the invisible arachnids he could have missed. The thought of being caught by one continued to torment her fragile mind as she began to shake with fear.

Sweat began to run down the side of her head and atop her forehead, palms began moist from the sweat from balling them up. She soon found herself falling to her knees and her mind began to play the worst scenarios possible.

Within them she thought of how Maximus could encounter various beasts that could overtake him in sheer numbers. Or one where he could fight an actual dragon and be burnt to a crisp. She also thought of him falling into a trap where he could never escape or age rapidly to being a withered old man.

"No!" She shouted and leaned forward placing her forehead on the ground. "I cannot take it anymore, not knowing how he is doing out there. Is he alright, did he get assassinated by an invisible foe or get swallowed up by some giant creature? I need to know!" She began to cry.

"Are you an idiot, do you want something to come and find us without Maximus anywhere near us!" Kazuma snapped at her, unable to tolerate her whining any longer.

"But I cannot help it, he always said to stay by his side and nothing would happen to me. Now, he has been gone for too long and I cannot help but to think the worst has happened to him." She continued to cry holding her hands around her lower abdomen.

"Seriously, you are going to break down now of all times when I haven't been gone but barely ten minutes?" Maximus voice echoed before them.

The next moment when they all turned to look up, Maximus appeared before them as though materializing. Aqua instantly jumped up at him and he quickly caught her in his arms. She took hold of his coat and with eyes watering up, she looked upon him with a sense of hope he had found a way out of the reality they were trapped within.

"So, did you find a way out of here?" Aqua inquired.

Maximus sighed from the combined frustration of not finding what he was hoping for and Aqua's lack of confidence for being away from him. At the same time, he chuckled to himself knowing she was worried about him by the tone in her voice and not just panicking.

"Unfortunately, no, I was not able to find out which house or building we should search within. This will make it most difficult to escape from here, although I have a few ideas to try out. The first of the three is the Guild Hall itself,"

"Why there of all places?" Aqua interrupted him before he could finish.

"Because, it is the one place the four of us have in common, we all met and became a party there. It is the most ideal location to inspect first. The next is our castle home, which lies deep in the forest. The reason for that is because Aqua and I live there. The final place would be the stables that lies just outside the walls. The reason for that place is because the four of us shared that place, even if for one night. Those are the most suspect in finding a way out of here." He paused to let Aqua down and she protested the idea. "Well, which place shall we start first?" He inquired of the group.

"Hold on, when did Chris ever sleep in the stables and if that is the truth, what happened?" Kazuma asked with a hint of anger. "How could she have been in there without my knowing?" He said to himself.

"Nothing happened!" Aqua and Maximus snapped at him together.

"Oh my, it seems Kazuma is a little jealous," Chris said with a smile and walked up to Maximus, wrapping her arms around his right arm and Aqua was becoming annoyed and furious with her being too close to him. "What if I were to say there was something magical that took place during that one night. The three of us were wrapped together in one big,"

"That is enough of your lies, especially one who is a," Maximus stopped himself as he almost let Chris' identity slip out of his mouth. "One who should conduct themselves appropriately." He quickly finished and Chris was on the verge of freaking out on him.

"You can let go of him now or I can help you release him from your grasp." Aqua said cracking her knuckles and had a harmful intent gleaming in her eyes.

"Oh, uh sorry Aqua, I did not know the two of you were so close." Chris giggled and released his arm as she sensed Aqua's intense nature emanating from her.

Aqua quickly took hold of Maximus and turned him away from Chris. "Maximus is mine and no one else's, you got that." She finished sticking her togue out at her.

"Well, anyway, how about we press for the Guild Hall and see about getting out of here. Once there we can turn these two into the local authorities and get a reward for their capture." Maximus said and began to walk towards the Guild Hall.

"What do you mean by that, are you seriously going to turn us in just like that, even though we are teammates? You cannot do that to us." Kazuma protested.

Maximus stopped in his tracks and turned his head to face them. "Relax, I was only going to do that and break you two out the very same night after getting my reward. The two of you have a substantial bounty on your heads and will greatly help with my debt. Also, call it compensation for me saving you two earlier. Also, also, you two have not been with us since we first split weeks ago. So, it is not a full betrayal, I just need the money and as I said earlier, I was going to bust you two out the very night you are there. Deal?"

"I want a split of the bounty,"

"You will get no such thing as I just saved your lives, the least you two can do is payoff this debt you two owe me." Maximus interrupted Chris from continuing.

"Alright, you win, it's a deal then." She said feeling a little annoyed and decided not to argue it further seeing no point as the look in his eyes gave off the impression, he was not going to change his mind.

"But you cannot just say we owe you,"

"Kazuma, it is best not to stress about this further, besides, think about how much cooler and more serious this will make us out to be. If we get caught by him, how do you think this will turn out for not only us, but for him as well!" Chris interrupted him.

"What do you mean by that?" Aqua inquired, feeling confused.

Maximus sighed, remembering she does not think too far ahead.

"How many thieves would be willing to continue their work after being captured by me, knowing I am out there keeping an eye out for them. Also, how many people will come knocking at our door to aid them in capturing and protecting their precious goods from said thieves who are spread all over the country?" He asked and waited for her to think it through.

"It is another way to making a lot of money by capturing the other thieves and leaves me and Kazuma to steal whenever we want by using your knowledge of what the traps could be!" Chris shouted with excitement.

"I was thinking more on the lines after capturing you two, more people would be inquiring my services to capture as many rogues and forcing them to tell me where there precious treasures are and find them to pay off our debt faster and,"

"Becoming the richest people in the country!" Aqua interrupted Maximus after connecting the dots with joy.

"Now you are getting it." Maximus said to her feeling a little proud she figured it out but knew it would not be too hard where money was involved. "Also, I would be willing to split those treasures with you evenly. What do you say to that after we get out of here?" He inquired of Chris and Kazuma.

"Wow, you really do think more than a couple of steps ahead, sure, I am in." Kazuma said.

"Alright, I will hold you to that promise." Chris added.

"Okay, then let us continue on out of here, be on your guard, there is no telling what could await us ahead from here on out." Maximus said and turned around as they headed for the Guild Hall.

The four of them arrived before the doors of the Guild Hall and Aqua began to remember briefly how it was when she first arrived with Maximus. She took his right hand and leaned a little closer to him.

"Hey Maximus," She said to get his attention and he turned to look down at her. "It almost feels as though we have come full circle doesn't it? This is where we technically began our journey together." She paused to look at the doors. "So many memories since that day and even though it only has been since the summer when we started, it feels a lot more time has passed than that." She finished her thought.

Maximus put his arm around her shoulder and leaned down with his head next to hers. He extended his left arm forth with his palm open.

"And we will have many more memories to create with each other, I promise you that." He said and turned to wink at her and she nodded.

Chris was watching their interactions and wished she could be with someone like him and have the same type of relationship. Kazuma was silent and only had escaping on his mind.

"Well, how about we get out of here as soon as possible." Kazuma said stepping forward towards the door.

"Just be on your guard, there is no telling what we could run into or expect once inside. It may not even be laid out the same way as we all remember it." Chris added.

"I agree, we should stay close and not split up as much as we can." Maximus also added.

Once they were before the doors, Maximus stretched his hand forth and to see if he could sense any magic by checking for mana residue. After he was finished, he nodded his head and opened the doors.

On the other side everything was exactly the same as the Guild Hall would normally look. Aqua was about to step forward when Maximus took hold of her. She looked back up at him and he shook his head to the side. The next moment he snapped his fingers and several of his familiars flew in as a way to inspect everything. The moment they were done sending him information about its safety, they disappeared and the four of them began to walk inside.

"Do you think it is nothing but a dud?" Chris inquired of Maximus.

"I doubt it, since my familiars did not detect anything, I would wager something will activate once we,"

Before he could finish Aqua's foot stepped on a cobblestone that sank into the floor. The loud echoing sound of something sliding against another object vibrated through the room and the doors closed behind them.

"I didn't do that." She proclaimed with a little innocent look on her face.

The sound continued to echo as though it would never end. The next moment Maximus noticed the light from the sun was fading and turned to notice what was happening to the windows. He saw the ground itself rise from the bottom and snapped his fingers, employing a teleportation spell around the four of them. The next moment he noticed they were not moving and sensed a little amount of Anti-Magic being deployed.

"So, it would seem like the possibility of me deploying magic inside would activate that little annoying employ of yours Maxwell. You must have sensed that when we first met, I would wager." He said to himself.

"What's going on?" Aqua asked out loud, terrified of what may come of this encounter and latched onto Maximus.

"Either the building is closing all avenues out of here or it is sinking into the ground itself." Maximus answered.

On the outside, the Guild Hall was lowering down into the ground as though heading to a predetermined destination. As it continued down the darkness quickly spread inside. Aqua and Chris quickly took hold of Maximus. Kazuma remained frozen where he stood and Maximus felt a little annoyed with their situation, knowing there was Anti-Magic around to ensure their capture.

After descending what felt like forever, the building stopped and the whole group were hesitant to make a move. Maximus kept his eyes at the door, focused and prepared for anything. He knew should something come through he would have to move a lot faster with both Aqua and Chris at his side. Kazuma remained where he stood, facing opposite from the door, too scared to muster any courage to turn around.

After a few moments nothing happened and Aqua, Chris, and Kazuma all sighed in relief. Maximus kept his guard up, expecting something to happen the moment he was to drop his stance.

Aqua noticed he was still tense. "Maximus, what is it, do you suspect something is still going to happen?" She briefly inquired and turned to Chris, noticing she had wrapped her arms around his arm. "By the way Chris, you can let go of him now, and why aren't you wrapping yourself up on Kazuma?" She asked with a menacing tone and an intense sinister glare.

"Uh, about that," She paused and the two looked over to see Kazuma was still not moving. "He tends to be very cowardly. I thought it would be fun to help him out when you guys first split up because of Lord Alderp. So, I took him under my wing and we began to do… a… little thieving." Chris said feeling embarrassed.

"Wait a minute, how did you know it was Lord Alderp who was responsible for the little fiasco all those weeks ago?" Aqua inquired, knowing Kazuma could not have possible deduced Lord Alderp's involvement.

"Well, that is simple, it is because I am the Goddess Eris, how else would I be able to know…" Chris stopped herself but was too late to cover her mouth.

Aqua snorted and began to laugh. "You claim to be the Goddess Eris, the one who thinks she is so special and always breaks the rules of sneaking down to the Mortal Realm to play dress up, that Eris?" Aqua continued to laugh at her.

"But it is the truth!" Chris snapped back at her.

"Hey look, that chick over there claims to be the Goddess Eris." An image of a man appeared pointing at her.

"No way, everyone knows the Goddess has a more vibrant figure than hers." Another person said.

"Wait, now that you mention it, she does have the same face, minus the scar. Not to mention the same colored hair and eyes." A female adventurer spoke out.

"No way, I think it might be true, but why is her chest so small." A man said as though he were turned off at the idea of wanting to sleep with a Goddess.

"Seriously, does that mean she pads her chest or something, how can she even call herself a Goddess with a body like that." Another man chimed in.

"I cannot stand the idea of being in a religion that worships such a Goddess with a small figure." Another person said and dropped their pendant that signifies her following. "Maybe I will go to the Axis Sect and worship a Goddess with a vibrant bust than yours."

Chris began to cover her ears as each person was making fun of her. She soon found herself squatting down in the fetal position and began to cry. Each of her followers were throwing their pendants down on the ground before her until Darkness remained.

Chris noticed she was standing there and the next moment Darkness threw her pendant down and walked away. She fell to the side, tears falling down her face as she realized her loneliness.

After standing there for several moments, Kazuma finally made a move and soon noticed he was standing in the room alone.

"Uh, guys, where did you all go, and why did you leave me behind!" He raised his voice to echo across the room in the hopes they would hear him. "What is going on here!" He shouted.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here girls." A young adventurer said appearing behind him with several other women who all had a sinister look in their eyes.

"Why if it isn't Kazutrash himself standing here all alone. It's a shame you have no one to protect you know." One of the other young ladies spoke.

"You were the one who stole our panties all those weeks ago." Another added.

Kazuma was frozen in fear seeing the random young women he had stole panties from at random times. His face was filled with terror and his body couldn't move an inch.

"Not to mention he made Aqua and Megumin be covered in the disgusting toad slime and took advantage of those young girls in the most unsavory manner." One of the young ladies, who saw him with Aqua, Maximus, and Megumin on the day they finished the Giant Toad Quest.

"I heard he is nothing special at all, just your typical perverted immature young man who forces young women to do anything he wants. Not to mention they say he has the highest amount of luck, ha, more like the highest amount of bad luck." One of the other girls added.

"Krapzuma, Krapzuma, Krapzuma." All the young ladies chanted over and over again sinisterly as they walked towards him.

"Oh man, I am so dead right now! Each of these girls look like they want to castrate me right here and now!" He said and balled up into the fetal position as they began to close the distance, surrounding him.

"Somebody help!" He shouted.

Aqua was standing in a void looking around attempting to calm herself from her nerves. She had been wandering in it for what felt like an eternity.

"Maximus!" She shouted as loud as she could, but her voice did not travel far. "Where is he, I know he would not leave me behind unless he knew I was in a safe place." She said to herself.

The next moment she began to fell cold from the wind, blowing at her from all sides. Her skin feeling the icy bite of its sting across her whole body. She hugged herself in an attempt to keep herself warm.

"It almost feels as though I am in the snow fields around the town. I wish you were here to warm me up and keep me safe in your soft embrace." She whispered.

"Mama, mama, there you are!" A young boy shouted out with joy.

Aqua turned around, unsure of what to do but wait. She saw the young boy being picked up by an image of herself.

"Oh, there you are my dear boy, you know better than to run off from mommy." She said picking him up and spinning in the air.

Aqua watched intently and noticed the boy's hair was blue like hers along with Maximus' purple eyes.

"The boy is a spitting image of me when I was that young, only he has your hair. I am glad he got something else from you outside of being a total clumsy and lazy. You should be more willing to learn more about your abilities and various studies instead of playing around or doing nothing." Maximus' voice echoed and he appeared before the two of them.

"There is nothing wrong with letting him have a break now and then." She said as she began to spin around with him in her hands.

"More like ten times a day he has skipped his studies, clearly he gets that carefree attitude from you." Maximus said feeling a little annoyed.

Aqua was still standing there watching the little scene play before her, feeling her emotions run wild and a happy tear fell down the side of her face.

The next everything went dark and was followed by an orangish-red tint as though something were on fire. The blistering heat beat against her back and she heard the screaming of many people. She turned around to see a monstrous fire, spreading throughout all of Axel. Many people were being cut down by men who were built like Maximus. There were even a number of women within their ranks whose stature was far more than the average woman.

Aqua's face was horrified when she looked closer at them. Everyone of them had the same blue hair as hers and purple eyes that matched Maximus'. The next moment she was taken all across the entire world and saw the same thing spread upon its face.

"For my father, Maximus, and my beloved mother, Aqua, who died at the hands of the New Demon Lord's." A man shouted and the crowd before him cheered. "Many centuries since that day has passed but remember it well! I also remember the teachings my father left behind. Our ancestors once set out on a journey several millennia ago to purge the Cosmos of those who are impure and so, it shall be once more!" He shouted once more and the cheering continued. "We are the rightful ones who should inhabit this Cosmos and no one else! We will go forth through our world and purify it of all evil that has festered here for too long. After that is done, we shall take that knowledge he had left for us and go forth into the void of Space to purify all Demons who live in the mortal plain! Who's with me?!"

The crowd before him cheered in agreement. The next moment she watched as time sped up a little more and soon saw they had built ships which could travel into and throughout the Cosmos. Orbiting around the planet, she saw a few dozen of space ports with dozens of ships docked beside them. Soon after she saw a fleet of them preparing to leave. Each ship went a different direction and she was shown another world being invaded by them.

Upon the face of this planet she was shown hers and Maximus' descendants slaughtering all who would resist. Many were cut or gunned down and many more were enslaved, forced to work in mines all across the planet to harvest their resources.

"Why did you do it?" A little girl appeared and asked, holding her teddy bear close to her chest. "Why did you revive the Nephilim Race and allowed them to conquer the Cosmos again?"

"I didn't mean for this to happen, I just wanted to give him my greatest treasure to him." Aqua said and fell to her knees, hugging herself.

"Oh look, it's the Mother of the New Nephilim." A woman's voice echoed.

"What a shameful thing for a Goddess like her to allow to happen. You can never again enter the Heavenly Realm." A man's voice followed.

"You are hereby exiled and are to never again look this way." Another man's voice chimed in.

"Aqua, Aqua!" Maximus' voice echoed and she soon felt his hand grab hold of her shoulder. "Aqua, wake up!" She heard him call out to her again.

The next moment she awoke, screaming and wrapped her arms around him. Maximus sighed in relief fearing she would never wake up. She remained quiet, not wanting to say anything as tears began to flow down her face.

"I know what it was you saw; however, you should know, that is only a trick not anything which is set in stone. It is only something Maxwell…"

"It is still a possibility that could happen." She snapped at him and continued to cry.

"I did not think it would affect her in this way, but I guess it has been on her mind here and there. Trying to pry her out of that hallucination was more difficult than the other two. I know full well a Nephilim's rage can consume one to the point they no longer think rationally. Especially that day at Oceanus' palace." He said to himself.

"Is she going to be okay?" Chris asked.

"She will be alright, just give her some time." He replied.

"How come you weren't affected by the mind game we found ourselves in?" Kazuma inquired.

Maximus remained silent for several moments. His mind racing through many scenarios of watching Aqua die and each time after he would save her from a particular certain doom, she would die another way.

"Believe me when I say, I was affected by that game and even someone like me was having a tough time breaking out of it. Come on, let us move on, there is nothing else here for us." He said as sweat ran down the side of his face.

He took Aqua in his arms and walked out the door of the Guild Hall, which had not sunk into the ground. The others followed closely after him and they headed through town.

"So, which of the last two places shall we search next?" Chris asked.

Both Aqua and Maximus flinched, hesitating on the thought to press on.

"I guess that mind game really got to me. I have no will at all to continue this, not after what we all have been through thus far." He said to himself and looked back at Chris. "I guess we can go to the stables." He said unenthusiastically and with no confidence.

Aqua held on to him tighter and he mirrored her, both afraid to let the other go as the four of them pressed on.

"Please tell me it will be alright, tell me a future such as that will not happen to this wonderful world." Aqua whispered to him.

"It," He paused and noticed his confidence was more absent than before. "It will not happen; I will see to it myself if I have to." He forced himself to say.

Aqua remained silent after noticing his hesitant reply and just kept holding onto him.


	32. Chapter 32

**The Labyrinth:**

The four of them arrived at the stables and waited for several moments, wondering if something would happen. Each of them thought of many different things or traps that could spring up at any moment.

Maximus kept his eyes on Aqua, noticing her discomfort had grown ever more since pulling her out of the mind game. He also felt the need to keep her close and a large portion of him did not want to let her go. After watching her die multiples times, more than he cared to count, his concern was intensely focused on looking after her.

Aqua could sense the growing concern from him emanating from his very essence. Despite her arms feeling tired, she still persisted on holding onto and keeping herself pressed against him.

"How many times did he see me die in his illusions?" She wondered to herself and did not have the courage to ask. "His confidence is not the same as it was before we entered here. He used to stand tall and firm against nearly anything that was not beyond his skill. Even when he retreated from the Giant Serpent, his confidence was not shattered at all. He confidently knew he was no match for it, but the other times he would stare down the impossible. I want to see that side of him again, I do not mind being held by him, but not in this way. I want to feel the same warm comfortable feeling he once had and not the fearful grip of someone who is afraid." She said to herself.

"So, what are we supposed to do here again?" Kazuma asked, breaking the silent moments they were having.

Chris noticed how Maximus was not saying anything. "It does not look as though he is going to be taking the lead on this one. He really has been shaken to the core watching Aqua die over and over again. It is good to see he is caring for her, but he should not dwell on that too much for too long." She said to herself. The next moment Chris took a step forward and pointed towards the stables. "Alright everyone, how's about we go in there and see if we can find any clues to getting us out of here. Then we can go home and celebrate once we are on the other side, because we should not stay down for too long." She said with a little enthusiasm to try and cheer everyone up.

"Yeah, I am with you on this, we have been stuck here for too long, who knows how much time has passed on the other side." Kazuma replied with the same attitude.

Maximus looked up at Chris and nodded his head with a little fake smirk. Aqua remained still, her head running with so many thoughts about what she saw and how she could try to prevent it.

They made their way into the stables and Chris and Kazuma peered around every corner. Once they arrived on the opposite end of the open stables, nothing stood out to them at all.

"Well this was a super drag; I was hoping we would find…" Before Kazuma could go on, his foot stepped onto a stone which sank under the pressure of his foot. "I did not do that!" He shouted, lifting his foot up and motioned his arms up as though he was ready to fend off some random creature.

Chris was a little irritated and both Maximus and Aqua did not acknowledge what had transpired. The next moment the threshold on both sides had stone slabs rise up and closed off the exits. The light quickly dimmed to black and both Aqua and Maximus held onto each other even more.

Chris approached the slab before here and thoroughly inspected it. After a few moments she could sense no dangers and pressed against it. The slab was light in weight and opened almost immediately.

The light from the other side of the entry lit up the darken stables and everyone shielded their eyes. After allowing time to adjust to the brightness, they made their way through. Immediately on the other side they stood on a small hill and after, they beheld a massive labyrinth that extended as far as the eye could see.

Maximus saw it and felt annoyed. "It had to be this right after being mentally exhausted and yet I am not surprised this would be next." He forced himself to say out loud.

"Why do you say that?" Aqua asked.

"Well, in the old stories I grew up on, many heroes who were mentally broken find themselves in this kind of situation. Forced to navigate through an endless labyrinth that could be, and in all likelihood, filled to the brim of various traps and monsters alike. Not to mention test your mental state even further, seeing your will to survive be tested on a whole other level. Also, test your patience and persistence with this kind of trap. We will need to be extra careful and try our best, even with our mental exhaustion, to be on our guard for anything." He said as he forced himself to walk towards the entrance of the labyrinth. "And one more thing, legions upon legions of smaller creatures inhabit a place such as this to test our endurance and stamina. Not to mention, I have heard stories of creatures who can literally live within the walls themselves." He finished.

The four of them began to make their way into the tall walls of the labyrinth, turning every which way. After walking for an hour, they found themselves right back at the beginning. Maximus was displeased with the sight, Aqua remained in the same position as before by not looking up at anything, and both Chris and Kazuma began to complain.

"Are you serious, how did we get turned around so much we ended up back here?!" Chris shouted in disbelief.

"I thought it looked familiar when we made that last turn." Kazuma said feeling a little exhausted from all the walking and noticed Maximus was not even breaking a sweat. "He has been carrying her this whole time and he does not even look the least bit tired at all! Man, I wish I could be more like him and it is all Aqua's fault I was not able to get a cool skill from the start." He said, feeling a little depressed.

"Let us try it again, I am sure we will have better luck this time around." Chris said to cheer everyone up and noticed Maximus was starting to try to have some enthusiasm as he gave her a thumbs up.

They began to make their way again, trying to take a different turn at the start of their next round of walking. After making the last left turn, they saw a dead end before them.

"Ah man, I was hoping we would have found the way out of here. Seriously, this place is starting to give off some bad vibes." Aqua said, sensing an ominous presence.

"Hey, you actually paid attention this time around! Well, at least we know you are still in there somewhere." Chris chuckled.

They began to make their way back to the last turn when Maximus noticed an extra shadow pacing behind them upon the wall. When he turned around fully, the shadow was nowhere against the surface.

"Was that one of ours or was that just my imagination?" He wondered to himself.

"Hey, we better catch up with the others before we get left behind." Aqua said to him after noticing he had stopped. "What are you looking at or for anyway?" She inquired, looking where he was observing.

"It was nothing." He replied to her. "I swear I say something kind of shadow that was shaped like some kind of monster." He said to himself.

He gave it no more thought and used his magic to phase step behind the other two. He noticed they had not sensed he was gone from them and continued on. After a few more turns and walking down a long corridor, Maximus sensed an odd presence and heard the sound of falling rocks against the floor. He instantly and without hesitation, turned around to face the direction of the echoing noise sounded off. His right hand extended out, ready to employ an attack should something appear.

Chris and Kazuma hid behind him after hearing the unexpected sound. Both were also closing their eyes tight, afraid to even look down the ways, even with all the light from the sky shining into the long hall. Aqua remained still and hugged him tightly, afraid to look down the ways as well.

After waiting for several moments, Maximus lowered his hand and noticed nothing had made a move towards him.

"Was I dreaming that sound or did you all hear it too?" He asked and turned to each of them. All three of them shook there heads without hesitation and he focused his gaze back down the hall. "What could be playing with us, a spider; and I am not sure why I would think of that first. Could it have just been old rotting stone that fell from a bird taking flight. Although I do not recall hearing the flapping of a bird's wings. Or is it something else I am not familiar with, considering the odd ominous presence and the strange shadow from earlier, something is within this labyrinth. I wonder when it will start to toy with us and when it does, I will have something in mind for it." He said to himself.

He turned around and began to walk back to the four-way crossing and waited for a moment.

"So, which way do you want to go from here?" Chris inquired.

"Well, let us see what my familiar sees before we press on." Maximus said.

The next moment a bird formed in front of them and took flight. The instant it had reached the top of the wall, it was vaporized completely.

"What did that just now?" Kazuma wondered out loud.

Maximus studied it a little further as he sent an energy ball upwards and shortly after arriving at the same location as the bird, it was dispersed.

"Should have known there would be no way to fly above and see about where the end is." Maximus said and turned to his left. "Why don't we press forward in this direction." After making the turn he noticed it too was an extended corridor. "Wait, something is not right about this." He said stopping in his tracks noticing an oddity.

"Hold on a second, was this not a short walk 'til you would have to turn left of right when we last saw this spot?" Chris asked as she kept a close observation on the corridor.

"It was, but somehow it is not anymore." Kazuma said feeling confused.

The next moment Maximus teleported them back to the beginning after sensing something about to strike. Using his last memories of the entrance, they appeared with no visible harm at all.

"Wait, what happened, why are we…"

"I had to make a move at the last second." Maximus interrupted Kazuma. "Had I not, we all would have been defeated by something."

The next moment the echoing sound of metal hitting stone vibrated past them. The screeching sound of a monster feeling cheated out of catching its prey followed shortly thereafter. The whole group felt chills run up their spines and shook with fear. Kazuma swallowed a mouth full of saliva as his nerves were getting out of control. Chris took a step next to Maximus who remained with his gaze focusing in front of them and Aqua held onto him tighter once more turning away.

"Ah," Aqua screamed. "I do not know what that is, but I want out of here. Please, do not let that thing get me." She pleaded.

"Were I alone, this would be no problem for me to deal with, however, I am stuck with them and it is already starting to get me off my groove." Maximus said to himself and turned to Aqua. "I need you to let me go and allow me to navigate through there alone." He said to her.

"No, that is the worst idea, what if we are captured while you are gone or worse, end up dead." She shot back at him.

The next moment his mind replayed one of the previous scenarios where he had left her and the other four alone while he battled a foe. Once he returned, he saw them all dead on the ground.

"You are right about that," He said and paused. "I should not even suggest such a thing at this point in time." He finished his thought out loud while looking at her eyes and turned back at the first turn. "I get the feeling the labyrinth could change on us and we should put that to the test." He began walking forward and marked the wall before him with his finger and a magic engraving appeared on it. "We will mark our way through here and see what happens as we go. The magic will ensure this mark stays on it. Now, let us go into this frustrating and dangerous test once more." He said with a little more confidence.

As they made their way into the labyrinth once more Maximus was thinking of several different ideas for their mysterious foe.

"Going off by what I saw for a brief moment, I would say we have one shadow type monster lurking about, or it is a monster using magic to travel through the walls enabling it to be nearly undetectable. If that is the case, I am going to trap it the moment it springs to action. Trouble is, I have to play it cool, almost to the point where it will believe I am not trying to seek after it. Having my attention focused on it while acting as though I am not is a little tricky and will be a first time for me. Let us see if it will take the bait and how long it will resist the temptation." He said to himself.

Several times while walking, they all noticed the route was not heading back to the front just yet but was continuing on.

"Do you think whoever is the master of this place is finally bored out of their mind and wants us to come to them. Because it sure feels like this could be the case." Chris asked.

"One thing I hated about some games was labyrinths like this one back on my homeworld. They are good, however none I have come across have ever been too exciting." Kazuma said remembering some old games.

The next moment both Chris and he fell into a pit and before they could begin to fall over, Maximus extended his hand out to catch them with his magic. He moved them back to him and Aqua with his mind and the two exhaled their breath.

"Whoa, that was too close, I thought I was a goner for sure." Kazuma said out loud.

"You would have been if not for me being here." Maximus said looking over the edge and saw spikes filled with more individuals impaled upon them.

"Who are they, were they…"

"More victims who unwillingly were sent here to be genuine pigs for Maxwell's trap, very likely." Maximus interrupted Aqua and answering her at the same time.

"They do not look that old, somewhat still fresh." Chris said after inspecting them a little further from where she stood.

"Unless this trap preserves the bodies a lot longer than normal, I would say they appear to arrive not but a few minutes ago. If that is true, then time has no meaning here at all. We could be here for an eternity and time back in our reality may not pass as much at all." Maximus said what was on his mind.

"Is that even possible?" Kazuma inquired.

"It has a chance of happening; however, it depends on how skilled the caster is." He replied.

The next moment the shadow figure upon the wall dashed for Maximus. The body was exiting out of the very wall itself as though it and the monster were one. Maximus was a little surprised their foe made a move so early, more than he was expecting. He dropped Aqua and maneuvered her behind him as he spun around to face the creature. He held out his hands to form a magical barrier to stop the attack just as it was about to strike him in the back.

The monster's weapon clashed against the barrier and the other three behind Maximus saw what was before them. The creature's skin was green with a shade of grey molded upon it. Its arms were long and small, wriggly as though slightly deformed in some way, along with the shape of the rest of its body. The torso had a shrunken sickly look with the skin wrapping nearly around the ribs and bones. The head was unlike anything either of them had seen before. A cluster of long razor-sharp blades formed its teeth in a ring that was collapsed towards the center. A dozen of crimson eyes were focusing simultaneously on each of the party members at once. The back of the head had a multitude of snakes, slithering back and forth in every direction, acting as though they were watching his back and sides.

Maximus quickly formed a razor-sharp disk and threw it forward. The beast was able to deflect the attack and when it refocused on where the party were, it saw they were gone. The creature began to roar a screeching, ear piercing sound.

After looking around as though waiting, it molded into the wall once more and instantly left the area.

The next moment the party appeared back where they were as the invisible bubble evaporated. Maximus had his hand stretched out and the others were staying silent. After a few moments more had passed, he turned around and went to the opening within the floor.

"We should press on and not worry about battling that thing just yet. Because seeing how it moved about almost instantaneously, we would have been at a disadvantage. We need to get to a place where there is more room and then set traps for it." He whispered and they nodded. "I underestimated that creature's reaction time; it will not happen next time." He said to himself.

He used his magic to get them across the pit and began to traverse further into the labyrinth.


	33. Chapter 33

**The Labyrinth Fight:**

The four of them pushed through the endless maze. Twisting and turning every which way they felt as though they were getting nowhere. Each of their feet were beginning to ache in pain from the never-ending walking they were doing.

"This is getting annoying and I am starting to feel the fatigue wear on more with each passing minute. This is going to be a gamble, however, if it works, we can get out of here a lot faster. Hopefully, there is no traps of any kind that could harm us if activated." Maximus said to himself. "Hey, everyone, I have a plan to get us out of here." He said to them.

"Oh, now you want to tell us that instead of, oh I don't know, the moment we got here!" Kazuma snapped at him.

"Pardon me about my inaction from the beginning, I was still recollecting myself. That being said, my plan is to draw out that creature once more. I believe it is the sole reason why we have yet to find an end after wondering through this maze for what feels like several days now. Though that could be our minds playing tricks on us, but who knows for sure." He said.

"Okay, so we draw that creature out, but how are we going to do that exactly?" Chris asked.

"Simple, we split up." He replied.

"What!?" Aqua shouted to protest the idea and took hold of his coat. "What do you mean we should split up? I don't want to because if we do that thing will snatch us one by one and who knows what it will do to us when it takes us away!" She continued to panic.

"Well, that somehow got you out of your downer's slop, however, I was being serious about it too." He said.

Aqua froze in place, petrified by the idea of her walking alone within the labyrinth and at the same moment felt a cold stinging sensation on her back.

"Here are your instructions from what to do the moment you are far away." He continued on and zapped the info on what to do via telepathic suggestion.

Chris and Kazuma nodded their heads and proceeded as planned. Aqua stood there and began to shout more. Her voice was echoing down the halls and soon began to intensify, deafening the ears of the creature. Maximus had used his magic to make it raise in pitch several levels as time passed.

After a minute went by, the creature was unable to stand the ringing within its ears and made its way towards them.

Maximus could sense the faint magical presence radiate towards them.

"That did not take too long, I almost thought it did not have any ears at all last time I saw it. Well, I hope it likes this little trick I have for it." He said to himself.

Aqua continued on rambling until she noticed no one was standing there but her.

"H-hey guys, where did you go, why am I the only one here?" She said looking around to try and find the others.

Her eyes began to water up and her face puffed up. The next moment she fell on her knees and began to cry as loud as she could. Her cries echoed more vibrantly as the creature was unable to stand it, becoming furious with her cries.

The next moment its shadow rounded the corner and stood next to her. The bladed arms stretched out and the head peered into the opened space. Its arms were raised high above its head and roared as it swung the blades towards her.

The moment before the fatal blow was to strike, Aqua stopped crying and looked up right at it.

"Gotcha." She said.

Before the creature could react, she latched onto the monster and her body began to glow an orange color. The next instant her body erupted, exploding into a gigantic fireball that extended over a hundred yards wide. The shockwave upheaved hundreds of chunks of debris high into the air, shooting out in all directions nearly three times the distance and more. The walls within the circle were leveled from the face of the flooring and shattered from the wake of the force. The massive dust cloud began to form a mushroom shape and climbed to incredible heights.

The dust moved away with the new wind current and showed the creature still alive, twitching with each passing second. Its body was torn in half with multiple burn marks spanning across the remainder of its body. It laid there unable to move too much, feeling the terrible sensations that felt as though it would fall apart if it moved at all.

"Wow, that did a lot more damage than I first thought possible." Chris said feeling amazed at what she and the others saw.

The next moment the four of them appeared into view as another invisibility barrier hid them from the creature. Aqua was being held by Maximus with one of his hands over her mouth and the other still pressed on her back. He took his hands off her and she was able to move around freely.

"Indeed, I was not sure if the Magical Doll would have enough mana to enact this little trap. Although, what surprises me more is the fact creature fell for it so easily." Maximus said as he approached it.

"I still do not see why you felt the need to hold me in place. Do you even know how cold your hand was pressed on my back?" Aqua complained.

"You would have given it up the ploy the moment we began. Also, my hand only appeared to be cold because I had to numb your senses and a good place to do that is on your back. Or at least the second-best area since your spine is the central highway for your nervous system." He replied and looked upon the creature. "As for you, time to open that gate of yours and let us move along. Each of us have important things to do once we leave this world all together." He finished.

Maximus raised his hand up and pointed his palm at the creature.

"Heaven's Blaze." He said calmly.

Instantly the fires and bolts engulfed the creature and turned it to ash.

The four of them waited for several moments and soon noticed nothing was happening.

"Hey, I thought you said it would let us go after it died, what gives?" Kazuma inquired feeling a little annoyed.

"I can think of a couple of things for why it did not work. One would be this creature never held the way out or perhaps some other unknow factor could be at play here." He waited to inspect the rubble and debris all around him.

"Is something the matter?" Aqua asked stepping in front of him and leaned forward a little.

"Just that the last time I was in a battle within a Labyrinth, it was rebuilding itself and had an encounter with a strange gigantic creature which was not easily slayable. Although, I had a big cheat to help me with that battle, yet it still gave me a run for my money." He responded and waited for a little while longer.

Aqua chuckled nervously. "You don't think we will run into something like that while we are still in here will we?" She asked.

"I would not put it past Maxwell at this point, yet I do not think so. For now, let us concentrate on finding a way out of here." He responded.

"Right." The three of them said and Aqua still had a nervous look in her eyes.

They began to walk towards the edge of the debris field to reenter the labyrinth and Maximus could still sense the creature's essence to his surprise.

"Why am I still feeling as though that thing did not truly die. I can still sense its presence all around us as if the thing were a part of the very walls and floors around us. If that is the case, then I wonder if I should see about putting that theory to the test." Maximus said to himself.

He was about to employ another similar method from before but suddenly stopped.

"No, doing the very same tactic as before may not yield the same results as earlier. Yet I do need to draw it out somehow." He said to himself as he began to think further on the situation and stopped before entering the labyrinth.

Aqua suddenly noticed his presence was not beside her and turned around to see him standing out in the open.

"Hey, Maximus, are you not coming along?" She inquired.

Chris and Kazuma turned around after hearing Aqua call out to Maximus and stopped.

"What is it, are you still thinking of a way to get that thing to come out again?" Kazuma inquired.

"I have an idea and I want to test it out." Maximus briefly said and jumped up into the air.

Once he was at the same height as his familiars had been destroyed, he continued on past the level. He stopped his ascension shortly after and looked around in all directions. He scanned the visible horizon and could see the near endless construction the Labyrinth was in.

"This is too close of a similar situation as the time I was traversing within the Labyrinth of Eternity. Only difference is this labyrinth does not have that feel to it. Anyway, I wonder if we can try to fly around and see about finding the exit or perhaps return to the beginning. I feel we could be wondering around for quite some time. If we do that, I will have to teleport us back and maybe leave a marker here." He thought to himself.

The next moment he made up his mind and took the others back to the beginning. The three of them looked around and suddenly noticed the familiar sight of being before the entrance and seeing the stables behind them.

"Wait, what did you take us back here for?" Chris protested.

"Considering we can fly above this structure now from here, we can have a better chance of surveying its entirety. That is if we were needing to find the end, however, we were already at it. We were too worried and not truly focusing to realize it." He said.

"What do you mean by that?" Aqua inquired.

"Think for a moment, have you ever heard of a story where a wanderer went into a labyrinth and found its end, because I never had, not counting my own mainly because I feel as though that place had an end. So, this labyrinth place is a trap with no real end to it at all. It is meant for you to wander until you die considering there was no end that I could see when flying above it." He explained.

"So, how do we get out of here from where we entered?" Kazuma asked.

Simple, we kill the beast within it and the gate will open." Maximus said walking towards the stables. "Please let this be right, or else I am going to lose it. Being in a never-ending maze is not how I want to spend the rest of my life. Not to mention I now sense the creature again. The path connects these two structures together and is how this thing is moving around so fast. Time to experiment and hope to the High Heavens I am right." He said to himself.

Before they entered, Maximus pressed his index finger on the concrete path and drew a line across it. He sensed the presence had not made a move from the last spot.

"I guess this thing is confident it can take the four of us with no troubles at all. However, Kazuma does not have much in terms of skill to provide any kind of support not to mention he hasn't really brought anything to the table in any fight before. Aqua may be useful in casting some of her magic to give him a boost and depending on what type of creature this thing truly is, that may all she would be good for. We will have to adjust as the fight progresses. Now, my only concern is Chris. I have never seen her fight anyone as of yet. I know she is a Goddess; however, I do not know too much of her abilities within her human form. Could this be a hinderance and if so, how much?" He thought to himself for a moment.

Before he could continue thinking the stables began to open up in half. Soon after they saw the same creature as before but with a bulkier body.

The creature's skin was green with a shade of grey molded upon it. Its arms, now six in number, were still long yet no longer the same small and wriggly limbs as they used to be. They were now the size of tree trunks, five feet wide at the wrist. The torso had expanded out, its muscles ripped. The skin had indentions of what appeared to be a multitude of faces upon the whole torso.

The head was still the same cluster of long razor-sharp blades forming its teeth in a ring that was collapsed towards the center. A dozen of crimson eyes were focusing simultaneously on each of the party members at once. The back of the head had a multitude of snakes, slithering back and forth in every direction, acting as though they were watching its back and sides. The long tail waved as though it were light in weight yet thick as a tree's trunk. The creature moved on all eight limbs like a lizard would.

The whole party could feel the intense power emanating from within it. Aqua, Chris, and Kazuma were frozen in place, unable to move after witnessing the appearance of such a monster.

"Aqua!" Maximus shouted to get her attention. "I need you to increase my physical abilities, now!" He finished.

Aqua quickly regained her composure long enough to enact her spell.

"Right, Blessing." She said raising her hand up.

Maximus could feel his strength increasing by the second. He charged after the monster and slammed his right fist upon its neck.

The moment after he noticed it was not fazed by his strike and it moved the second right arm underneath it at supersonic speeds.

Maximus was surprised and barely dodged out of harm's way, flipping backwards, and landed in front of the party.

"This thing is a lot faster than I first gave it credit for." He said out loud and turned slightly towards Aqua. "I may need that Blessing one more time after that, do it for everyone else as well." He said feeling uncertain about the battle ahead.

Aqua nodded her head and granted him another boost in ability.

"I possibly could use my Angelic Form for this fight; however, I want to keep that in reserve incase the worst should happen. The way everyone else is, I will dare say if they get hit by this thing, they are done for." He said to himself and charged for the monster again.

In mid stride he fired a pair of holy blast upon it and soon noticed little damage resulted. He appeared on the left side of its head and slammed his right leg upon the neck where one of his previous attacks struck. Even with the small amount of damage the muscles were still too thick and tough as metal.

The monster swung it front left arm and slammed its fist upon Maximus, who was caught off guard. The speed was twice as fast from its previous strike and Maximus was sent flying away.

Maximus quickly regained himself in mid air and slid on his boots ten yards. His body began to register the pain of being struck by such a massive fist. His back screamed at him with each pulse from his heartbeat.

"It is not as bad as it could have been, good thing I had her cast that twice." He whispered grunting against the pain.

The next moment his back began to calm itself and he turned around to see Aqua healing his back.

"Don't you worry, I got your back." She said with a smile and winked at him.

"Glad to see she is not totally bothered from earlier, then again our lives are at stake." He said to himself and nodded at her.

Aqua soon saw the creature glow a crimson color as if preparing for an attack. Its body swelled up, inhaling as much air as its lungs could take.

"Maximus, look out!" She shouted.

Maximus turned around in time to see the monster lunge forward and fired a massive beam of crimson energy. He quickly raised a barrier and the attack slammed onto it. Shortly after he saw the cracks upon it expand, webbing out in all directions.

"This is not going to hold out much longer." He grunted and immediately turned around to take hold of Aqua in his right arm and leaped into the air.

At the same moment, the barrier broke apart and the beam continued on, stretching forth into the labyrinth. After traveling ten miles, the attack erupted upon one of the walls within the labyrinth. The titanic explosive force erupted and a powerful shockwave stretched in all directions, upheaving everything in its wake. The fireball that was at the center of the explosion ran across the ground, evaporating everything it touched.

Moments later the shockwave reached them and was nothing more than a gust of wind that barely caressed upon their bodies. The light of the fireball appeared as though the sun was rising over the horizon.

Maximus and Aqua were both captivated by the attack while hovering in the air. Chris and Kazuma joined in the amazement after taking cover to get out of the way from the attack. All four of them saw the long trial where the beam had traveled. The walls it slammed against were evaporated with large amounts of debris around it. The gap made by it was nearly fifty yards wide and seemed to expand as it traveled further into the maze.

"How could that thing have so much power, I call hax, this is bogus." Kazuma protested.

Chris was too frightened to move, shaking from the aftermath.

"If any of us were still standing in front of that, neither of us would have survived it at all!" They all said the same thought and turned back to the creature who was moving slow as if fatigue struck it hard.

"Now is our chance to kill it!" Maximus shouted seeing an opportunity to strike while it was weakened. "Heaven's Blaze!" He shouted and the blue flames and lightning spiraling around it stretched forth from his left hand and slammed upon it.

"It's time I give this a shot as well since you have been teaching me a little here and there." Aqua said and raised her hands. "Heaven's Blaze!" She shouted and the same attack he launched upon the monster.

The lightning electrified the monster's senses, causing them to be dormant as the flames began to form third degree burns across its body. It began to roar out in terrible pain and screeched high-pitched squeals.

After a few moments, the two stopped and he nodded at her and she responded. The two landed on the ground and charged after it. Maximus snapped his fingers and massive spikes as wide as tree trunks formed overhead. The next moment he waved his hand down and each one impaled its wrists of its limbs.

"Now is our chance Aqua, just like we practiced!" He shouted to her and she nodded once more.

"God Blow!" The two shouted in unison and both of their fist shined with their magical power.

Before the monster could react both of their strikes landed upon its chest, striking just over where the heart was presumed to be. Upon impact it began to roar out in more pain as the holy power from them seeped into it. The two of them grunted and soon noticed the effects were not having the same intensity as before.

"Maximus!" She shouted to get his attention and when their eyes met, they both nodded in unison.

"God Requiem!" They both shouted once more.

Immediately after their holy attack began to spread through its body, purifying it inch by inch. Soon the creature began to turn to ash and break apart. Both of them heard the souls of its victims leave its body, crying out in relief. Soon after the monster was completely turned to ash and slowly crumbled against the wind.

Aqua and Maximus took a step back and waited to see if any surprise would happen.

After waiting a minute, and after the monster's body had long crumbled away, the two look at each other and smiled.

"We did it!" Aqua shouted with joy and jumped into his arms.

Chris and Kazuma ran up to them to join in.

"That was amazing you two, nice teamwork." Chris complemented them.

"Well, every once in a while, the two of us would train the other, swapping magical knowledge. This was our first time executing that maneuver." Aqua said scratching the back of her head.

"Seriously, I thought you were going to be useless the whole time, not to mention other times in the past." Kazuma said.

"Why you little twerp, I will show you just how useless I am. Let me at him Maximus, I will teach this little shut-in-neet a lesson he will never forget!" She shouted and was being held back by Maximus.

"As fun as that might be to watch, I think we should press on from here." Maximus said feeling a little annoyed she would waste her time with Kazuma.

The next moment the Stables had a gate form within and they could see on the other side was the inside of the stables.

"What is this trickery, I thought we would be able to get out of here!" Aqua protested and began to cry a little.

Maximus made his way towards it and she soon protested the idea of going through.

"Are you seriously going through there, what if it's another trap? What if we walk through there only to be stuck in this place forever?" She cried out.

"We are stuck here either way or have you forgotten we are within Maxwell's trap as a whole and not just one little section." He calmly said and she sensed his annoyance within his voice.

She stopped herself from continuing on crying and held onto him as they stood before the gate.

"Do you think it is the way out?" Chris inquired.

"Well, usually in games, once you defeat the boss of any dungeon level a gate appears to either take you to the next level or returns you to the beginning to press on from there. I would wager we might end up going somewhere else rather than into another level." Kazuma added.

"Well, there is only one way to find out, unless you wish to traverse into that labyrinth again. I believe we might be done here." Maximus said and pressed on through it.

The moment the four of them were on the other side the gate closed in on itself and disappeared. They soon noticed nothing was happening and walked out of it. The sunlight seemed to shine a little brighter after standing within the shade. They turned to look around and saw the town in the background along with the trees and mountains.

"Yep, I believe we have passed this level and can continue on to the next one." Kazuma said.

"I believe you might be right about that. Well, come along, we have no time to lose." Maximus said and continued on in the direction of the last place to check for the exit out of Maxwell's trap.

"Just one question, why are you still carrying her?" Kazuma inquired.

"Well,"

"Well, you see, it is because I was able to best that beast and deserve a little reward. I am a Goddess after all and should be treated as such." Aqua replied with a little condescending tone towards him before Maximus could answer.

"Tsk, whatever you…"

"God Blow!" Aqua shouted before Kazuma could finish and slammed her fist against his chin that knocked him to the ground.

"How dare you threaten to call me useless when you have not even contributing anything throughout this whole time we have been in here!" She shouted in anger and picked him up shaking him.

Before she could continue, Maximus picked her up once more and pressed on to the forest where their castle laid within.

"As fun as this is to watch, we need to get out of here. Afterward, you two can try and kill each other, deal?" He said before she could protest him.

"Hmph, fine then, but just so you know, this will cost you as well. Interrupting a Goddess' punishment comes at a heavy price." She informed him with her index finger pointed at him.

"Yeah, yeah, save it for later, also, we will see about that so-called punishment for me when we really get home." He said no threatened by her ultimatum. "Come now, there is no telling what awaits us in this forest before we even reach the castle." He said to the others.

Kazuma slowly picked himself up with Chris' help and they soon joined him.


	34. Chapter 34

Take Notice:

Hey readers, I just have to leave a little note at the top to inform you of my less than active updating on this story. The reason for this is because I am in the process of moving and finishing up helping my parents for a move. So, I do apologize if any of this is making you go crazy, although I hear most fanfic authors update at a much slower pace than I do. With that said, once the move is over and everything is settled down and hopefully I am not going to be overwhelmed with school this semester and fitting in work in between those times as well as working on my own indie series, I will try to get back on track and see about maybe squeeze more chapters each month. For now, I will have to work at an awfully slow pace. Anyway, as always, I hope you enjoy this story and encourage you to check out The Chaos Gemstone Chronicles to familiarize yourself with the Character Maximus a little more. Peace out.

**The Forest of Cursed Senses:**

The four of them made their way into the forest and after traveling for a few minutes, they each began to notice the silence within. The crickets, birds, wild beasts, nothing was making a sound. Aqua was unnerved and could not help her fear from getting the best of her.

"Oh man, it's places like this that usually spells trouble for everyone." She said feeling scared and soon remembered she was within Maximus' arms. "Then again, with him here, I doubt we will be in too much danger. Especially after he has regained his composure." She finished.

Maximus and the others were keeping their wits about, waiting for any possible enemy to appear.

The next moment a breaking sound of a small branch of a tree snapped. Maximus instantly turned around, maneuvering Aqua to his side, arm still around her, and his left arm stretched forth. He had his arm filled with a fair amount of built up mana to launch an attack and waited to see what caused the noise from within the silence.

Kazuma had flinched in fear and hesitantly prepared himself, squealing out loud, and drew his sword.

Chris had turned around the same time Maximus had with her Magical Dagger at the ready.

All of them were quiet, holding their breath in. After a few moments had passed no signs of a person or monster was presenting itself.

Maximus tried to use his familiars to survey the area and the moment they flew ten yards away they were instantly destroyed.

"Clever for you to set something like that up or something else is at play. I did not sense any attacks at all which could mean there is Anti-Magic within the forest. Yet it is strange to eliminate them so far away from me and not upon activation. Someone is either confident or there could be another variable I have yet to account for." Maximus said to himself.

Maximus turned to the others.

"Let us continue on, we need to leave this place as soon as we can. Hopefully not too much time has passed in the real world, which I am fully counting on." He said to them and they nodded.

The four of them pressed forward towards the direction of the castle. The silence of the forest made their ears feel as though their heads were about to explode. A buildup of pressure from their anxiety of not hearing anything made their uncomfortableness gradually mount.

"Why is it so quiet in this forest, I feel like I am going deaf not hearing anything at all." Aqua said out loud and looked up at Maximus and noticed he was having a little difficulty with their surroundings as he was constantly looking around. "Hey, are you okay?" She asked as she took hold of his arm.

Maximus stopped the moment he felt her touch and turned to look back at her.

"I am fine, it's just I feel unbalanced, as though my equilibrium is not centered. It is not too much of a concern, for now. I wonder if there is something at play that is keeping all of us from not hearing anything." He said with a half-smile and turned forward. "I feel as though we may be walking into another trap. It is difficult to sense anything at this moment let alone hear any movement. I wonder about this place, wonder at the idea that the further we walk into it the more our hearing is lost or something." He finished his thought.

"What are we going to do if and possibly when that happens?" She asked while she tugged on his arm a little more to get his attention.

Maximus turned around once more and saw she was trying to talk further with their conversation.

"Maximus, I feel like we should turn back and…"

Maximus soon noticed her voice was echoing no more from her mouth and she soon noticed he had a concerned look on his face.

"What is it, is something wrong?" She asked and saw him moving his mouth and could not hear his words reaching out to her. "What is he saying?" She wondered to herself and tried to respond.

Maximus stopped from talking and looked up to see both Chris and Kazuma were gone. Aqua saw him looking around and soon noticed their companions were missing. She quickly took hold of him and held on tight thinking the worse idea of imaginable.

"Where did they go, what happened to them?!" She tried to yell as loud as she could and noticed Maximus was not hearing her as he looked down with a confused look in his eye.

"I bet she is worried about what happened to the other two and is deathly afraid to let go. I do not blame her I don't want to let her go as well." He said to himself and soon a flashback of when he saw her die right in front of him appeared in his mind. "It happened just like this, we were walking down the road on a quest and soon found ourselves unable to hear. That is when…" He stopped and looked back at the makeshift trail they had trekked and saw Chris and Kazuma in quicksand.

The two were shouting desperately and noticed Maximus turned back to them.

"God, it's about time he heard me, I am nearly about to die in quicksand!" Kazuma said to himself and stopped looking over at Chris. "Wait a minute, why am I not able to hear her at all?" He wondered seeing her screaming, mouth moving yet not even a whisper escaping her tongue.

Maximus and Aqua both ran up to the two and stopped a few yards away. Both of them looking around as though inspecting the ground to insure they were not in the quicksand as well.

"Okay, I think we are just mere feet from the edge. Now to get them out of that sinking pit." Maximus said to himself.

Maximus raised his arms up and with his hands form a C shape, as though holding a teacup, to take hold of the two. His magic began to aid them from the grasp of the quicksand. The moment the two were nearly out, Maximus felt a shock, tingling against his back as though a bolt of lightning struck him. He soon felt his magic dissipate and was gone the next instant.

Chris and Kazuma fell back down and began to sink a little faster than before. Maximus looked around and rushed over towards a nearby tree. He tried to use his magic and soon noticed none of it was within his arm.

"Guess I am going to have to resort to this after all now my magic has been taken from me." He said as he gathered his Spiritual Energy around his right arm.

The next moment he swung it across and cleaved it horizontally. He took hold of it and threw it towards Chris and Kazuma. The tall tree landed in front of them and they could feel the vibrations rippling through the quicksand. The two took hold of several branches and began to climb out. Aqua had already met the two holding out her hand and Maximus soon joined her.

Chris and Kazuma began to catch their breath from the excitement and was about to shout at the other two and soon remembered they could not hear a thing.

"Curse whoever is doing this, making our ears not hear anything. That is a well thought out idea, even I would never imagine such a thing. Now I wonder, will continuing on do anything worse than what has happened thus far?" Maximus wondered to himself.

Chris and Kazuma stood up and began attempting ways to communicate. Both were trying to signal each other and soon noticed it was not working as Chris turned away feeling disgusted.

"Damn it, I am trying to say we need to leave by going back. If I know anything about this kind of stuff, then the next best thing to do is retreat, regroup back at the town and see about flying over this forest!" Kazuma said to himself feeling frustrated.

"I am not even sure what hand gestures he was trying to use, but whatever they were, I am not sleeping with him." Chris said and turned to Aqua and Maximus who seemed to be understanding each other without making any gestures.

Maximus placed his forehead on hers and his hand over her heart. He also took hold of her other hand and placed it over his heart as well. He began to use a skill he had been trying to perfect ever sense he first started his journey on his home world.

"Aqua, are you able to her me?" Maximus' voice echoed in her head.

"Yeah, I can hear you, how are you doing that by the way?" She asked.

"I am using my mind to communicate with you since we are not able to hear each other speak because of this forest. I believe it is either designed for this or someone made it this way. I need you to walk with Chris while I walk with Kazuma in order to continue on. Reason for this is because should anything happen, I can communicate with you and lead Chris away and possible Kazuma as well. Hopefully it will not come to that, so go ahead and take her hand and I will let him know." He said to her and she felt uncertain about pressing on until he placed his right hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, it will be okay." He finished and she nodded her head.

The party continued on after explaining it by writing it in the dirt patch nearby. Kazuma at first was unsure of it but went along with the idea.

After walking for a few minutes, the party slowly began to lose another sense their bodies naturally had. Kazuma had brushed up against a thorn bush and the sharp cuts did not register at all. He had only noticed it when he brought his hand up to wipe his forehead randomly and instantly noticed his minor injury.

"Holy crap, when did this happened?" Kazuma wondered and tug on Maximus' coat to get his attention.

After several times, he noticed Maximus had not registered the pulling sensation.

"Is he ignoring me or can he not feel I am trying to get his attention?" He wondered.

Aqua and Chris had noticed his frantic attitude and both wondered what he was so worked up about. Kazuma moved in front of Maximus and pointed at his hand with a worried expression.

Maximus was curious as to why he was making a big deal about his minor injury. Kazuma began to point out he had lost his sense of touch and turned to the others. He signaled for the two to join them.

"What is going on, how come he has a cut and why did he not register it until now?" Aqua asked as Chris looked on with curiosity.

Chris began to bandage up Kazuma's injury and Maximus began to contemplate about their situation.

"Two out of the five ordinary senses humans naturally possess are taken from us. Could it be something about this forest that is causing this to happen?" Maximus was beginning to think and raised his right hand up with his palm facing him. "I still don't feel any of my magic coming back after first losing it. I can only guess that Anti-Magic can last up to an hour at the very least and it does not help I have never fully looked into this status affect. I wonder," He paused his thoughts as he turned to Aqua who had just finished helping Chris patching Kazuma up.

Maximus walked up to her. "Aqua, I need your help with something." He said and began to explain his idea.

"Basically, and if I am right, I can get my magic back and if not, I do have a backup." He said to her.

"What is it you are thinking of doing?" She asked, wondering how she could help him restore his magic.

"It's possible for you to use your Sacred Dispel Spell to cancel out this status effect Anti-Magic puts on anyone struck by it. I have not fully tried it out, however I have been looking into the idea for some time now, ever since I first saw you use it way back. Care to give it a shot?" Maximus asked and Aqua nodded her head.

Aqua stood in front of him and held out her right hand. Moments later a circle formed in between the two.

"Sacred Dispel!" She had shouted despite her words not registering in the ears of everyone present.

The next moment a ray of light shot forth and upon Maximus. Both Chris and Kazuma were wondering what she was doing and just as the light illuminated it was quickly dispersed. Aqua soon felt the same tingling sensation upon her back and black bolts struck her entire body along with the ray of light.

Aqua shouted in pain and Maximus instantly took hold of her and felt the bolts struck him. Both screaming in pain as their bodies felt as though thousands of needles were piercing every inch of their bodies.

Maximus soon pushed her away and to his luck and hunch the bolts stayed attached to him and left Aqua unharmed. She landed on her bum and looked back seeing the black bolts jolting around Maximus' body.

"Maximus!" She shouted in her mind and noticed he was not responding.

Aqua got to her feet and readied another spell.

"NO!" Maximus' voice echoed in her mind to make her stop. "There is no telling if this same attack will happen again. So, what ever you do, don't cast another spell." He ordered.

"But Maximus, what are we going to do?" She asked taking a step towards him with her hands pressed against each other, wondering what she could do.

"I wonder how long this is going to last?" Maximus wondered to himself as his body felt as though it were burning up.

"There is got to be something I can do; I can literally see his skin beginning to bister." Aqua wondered as his screams were now becoming prevalent and they could hear once again.

His echoing screams and grunts echoed loudly throughout the forest as though his powers were beginning to cancel out the magic within the dense forest. Soon after Chris had a terrible feeling and quickly took both Aqua and Kazuma's hands and began to run away.

"What are doing, we have to help him, we cannot just leave him here to die!" Aqua protested.

"There is no time to waste, we need to get as far away from him as possible. If I am right, he is about to unleash his Nephilim powers all around at once. Anything caught within the area, the blast is literally going to destroy everything it touches!" Chris briefly explained and remembered a time when she saw a Nephilim destroy an entire country. "If something like that happens, I may have no choice but to reveal my true form in the hopes of containing him. However, doing that will more than likely cause Aqua to pester me more than before and I am not sure how Kazuma will take it. Perhaps I can tamper with his mind in order to keep my secret safe, unfortunately; Aqua would be most unreasonable." She said to herself and began to think what she would consider should the worst happen.

Maximus' screams began to turn into roars as he was unable to hold back what his body was trying to do.

"Good, I think they are far enough… from me to let… loose. Thank you, Eris, I owe you big on this one." He said to himself.

The next moment a crimson circle appeared before and moved over to instantly transform into a form that was completely opposite to his Angelic Form. His chest had a large oval crimson diamond that formed over where his heart is and round gold diamonds formed over his elbows, knees, and each of his knuckles. His body appeared to have no skin making his muscles visible, and new skin momentarily developed over them, turning to the color of crimson. His entire body began to have features of a dragon as his feet formed three distinct toes with scales growing and hardening.

Over the skin, armor began to form and harden with a scaly appearance making it appear impenetrable. Thick talons, two inches long, extended from Maximus' fingernails. Two large horns formed out the side of his head curving upwards and several smaller horns formed beside them.

His face began to shape a chin blade, and his teeth formed like spears with four sharp fangs that grew longer than the rest of his teeth. Upon his back wings formed liken to a bat's wings, but with scales upon them with the thumb forming razor-sharp bladed spikes and a bladed tail extended from his lower back. His hair on his head turned silver, and when his eyes opened, they were a solid crimson color with silver pupils at the center.

Maximus' armored body protected him from harm and had crimson aura form around him. He could sense the rage quickly building after undergoing such pain and torture. He began to wonder if Maxwell had designed this outcome.

The next moment his rage continued to rise and he began to struggle to keep it under control.

"No, what is causing me to continue to go out of control? I should be able to hold this all back, yet it is building at an accelerated rate. Could this be part of the forests design to cause select people to eventually lose control of themselves outside of losing their senses?" He wondered as he struggled to keeping himself from exploding his powers outward.

Meanwhile, Chris and the others stopped when they reached an opening within the forest and stopped to catch their breath. Aqua quickly turned around in the direction where Maximus was and soon saw a gigantic pillar of crimson aura stretching towards the heavens.

"What is causing that to happen, is it Maximus who is causing that and if so, why do I have a terrible feeling about it, like something that is demonic, is it his demonic side that is the cause?" She wondered as the memories of seeing so much devastation caused by his ancestors flashed in her mind.

She began to remember seeing one Nephilim destroy an entire city by just using his Demonic aura that erupted forth, destroying everything it touched.

Meanwhile, the area around Maximus began to erode and wither the trees, grass, and caused the soil to be corrupt. Everything around him was beginning to die as though the very life was being sucked out of the vegetation around him.

"This is just like the time when I took the soul of Oceanus from his corpse, as though I was feeding off of him in some way. Yet I do not remember fully absorbing him into my power. Could this be another ability my ancestors were capable of doing, using the Demonic side to drain the life out of all around, if so, how is it activated?" He wondered to himself and began to force himself to stay in control but soon felt as though something was taking over.

Maximus could feel his rage wanting to unleash further as the diameter of all around him began to expand further.

Meanwhile, the others began to feel the uneasy aura racing towards them.

"I am afraid I may have no choice but to interfere or else we are finished." Chris said to herself.

The next moment Maximus appeared in the air above them. The three of them saw the Demonic Form floating above and both Aqua and Chris recognized him from watching his previous events on his homeworld.

"What is that, a Demon?" Kazuma wondered and began to quake before his presence.

His eyes took in Maximus' Demonic Form and he soon fell to the ground. His chest had a large oval crimson diamond over where his heart is. He saw round gold diamonds had formed over his elbows, knees, and each of his knuckles. Maximus' crimson was visible through the open areas of his joints. The armor upon his entire body had features of a dragon as his feet had three distinct toes with scales stretching up to his knees, one over the other.

The black had the scaly appearance making it appear impenetrable. Thick talons, two inches long, extended from Maximus' fingernails. Two large horns formed out the side of his head curving upwards and several smaller horns formed beside them. His face began to shape a chin blade, and his teeth formed like spears with four sharp fangs that grew longer than the rest of his teeth.

Upon his back wings formed liken to a bat's wings, but with scales upon them with the thumb forming razor-sharp bladed spikes and a bladed tail extended from his lower back. His hair on his head turned silver. His eyes were a solid crimson, soulless feel, and an evil gaze stared down upon them.

"This is not going to be good; I have no choice now but to contend with him in my true form." Chris said to herself and looked at Aqua and Kazuma who were stunned by the sight. "I wonder if I, being a lower-level Goddess, will be enough to accomplish such a task." She whispered as she turned back up to Maximus, who still remained where he was.

"Maximus, listen to me, you got to get a hold of your senses, please come back to me!" Aqua cried out and soon noticed he did not recognize her nor flinched when her voice cried out. "Are you even in there, why you seem to not recognize me?" She said feeling sad.

"Aqua, I need your help in what is to come, you and I are the only ones capable of taking him on." Chris said shedding her mortal form and into her Goddess attire.

Aqua was caught totally off guard and stared at her for a few moments in shock.

"That is why you acted the way towards me when we first met, you knew who I was the entire time and did not say anything. The nerve of you to go down into the Mortal Realm and sneak around like a dirty thief is both shameful and unforgivable!" Aqua shouted at her with her right index finger pointing at Eris.

"We can argue about that another time, right now, we need to focus our efforts on him. This might be a long shot since you and I are not really trained to handle combat too well, but we are going to have to make the most of it here and now. I know you only have a mortal body with some God like traits, however, it may be enough to contend with him." Eris snapped at her.

"Hmph, whatever, I will say that I am only teaming up with you because our lives are at stake. Do not think I am going to let this go so easily as your superior. Besides, as a high caliber Goddess that I am, this should not be… so… hard." She began to say with a nervous tone.

Aqua's mind began to falter a little.

"I remember seeing the devastation just one of them can wrought upon others, do I really stand a chance against him?" Aqua said to herself and took a big gulp.

Eris stood her ground and the two began to prepare themselves for the fight they were unsure of how it will go down. Kazuma kept frozen until he fainted from the pressure.


End file.
